That fight has been a key part of Carcone’s game this season. Night in and night out, Carcone has brought a high level of compete, which in turn has allowed him to be an impactful player. The league’s most successful teams are able to balance skill, speed, and physicality. Carcone adds depth to Utah’s roster.
“There’s a gritty component that he brings,” Armstrong shared. “He’ll go in there and change the course of a game but he’s also a speed factor for us. He changes the way our team looks when he’s in the lineup because of his speed. I think for him, he’s had some growing to do from that he came into our organization until now and it’s amazing the change in his game. He’s kept a grittiness, kept a speed component, and he’s learned to play inside a structure. For us, he’s a special player … what he brings every day it’s huge inside our locker room, for our team.”
Carcone had to adapt his game to remain in the NHL, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. To make an NHL team, let alone play, is a challenge as the game has grown and the talent pool is stronger than ever. Knowing this, Carcone put in the work and it paid off.
With runway left in the regular season, Carcone is one assist away and four points away from setting new career-highs in both of those categories. For the second time in his career, Carcone has contributed 10 or more goals, and he’s eight games away from matching his games played total for a single season. By evolving his game and adding different layers, Carcone is a mainstay in the Mammoth’s lineup.
“It’s obviously the best league in the world,” Carcone reflected. “When you come up into this league, there’s guys that they’re drafted to (score). You look at the Clayton Kellers, the Logan Cooleys, the Dylan Gunthers, those are hard players to keep up with. You (have) to find a role and something that you can bring every night, whether that’s hitting guys or being hard on the forecheck, using your speed, making the (defense) turn, so just trying to find factors that can keep you in the league.”
As he’s found a new level in his game and has grown as a player on and off the ice, Carcone was rewarded with stability for the next two seasons. Utah means a lot to Carcone and his family. For reasons on and off the ice, the Carcones and the Mammoth are equally excited for two more years.
“Since we’ve gotten here, the community’s been amazing to my family,” Carcone said. “So, it was kind of a no-brainer and obviously when you get to the hockey side of things, we have a great group in here and great people. So yeah, that was a pretty easy (decision) for me.”
“He’s a big component of our team,” Armstrong continued. “You talk about everybody has their roles that they do on their team. What he does for our team, you can just feel it when he’s on the ice. And I think our fans can feel it too and it’s a great thing for our organization and we’re proud to have gotten this contract done.”
