Renck: DU hockey captain Carter King proof hard work makes dreams come true

Everybody loves the truth. Except when it is about them.

This is what makes Carter King different. When DU hockey coaches recruited him, he heard exactly what he wanted to hear, no words spared.

“The coaches were honest with me right from the start. They let me know where I stood, what I needed to improve on to even have a chance to play. That’s something that I really appreciated, and it helped me,” King said before a recent practice. “Every day was about trying to prove to them that I deserved opportunities.”

This is a story about what you have to do — to survive, to endure, to thrive. King grew up in Calgary, Alberta, learning to skate on a frozen lake with his older brother James and father, Stephen. He showed promise at hockey, but did not widen scouts’ eyes.

With his Surrey Eagles junior team’s season canceled because of COVID-19, King arrived at DU on Jan. 8, 2021. He played in three games. Never sniffed regular shifts. He was, by his estimation, the 14th forward in a room of 15.

What he did next defined his career and has put him back in the Frozen Four seeking a third national championship, beginning with Thursday’s semifinal matchup against Western Michigan.

King finds motivation in rejection, driven to prove people right who trust him.

“I knew how special this program was. If I expected to be a first-line guy right away, I wouldn’t have come here,” King said. “I wasn’t mad. And I wasn’t surprised I wasn’t playing. I wasn’t worried about it because I knew I had to get a lot better.”

While most players look for the knob to the transfer portal when they feel unseen — “There was never a single thought about going somewhere else,” he said — King had belief. And a vision for his future.

He morphed from an unknown reserve to an invaluable 20-goal force on the country’s highest-scoring team. How he did it was more impressive than what he accomplished. He became the model of consistency in the classroom and weight room.

On Sept. 27, before this season, coach David Carle named King team captain.

“He was a fourth-line player on our 2022 championship team. Each year he has had more and more on his shoulders. So he’s really been in every role all guys have been in. It makes him really relatable for the good and the bad any player is experiencing,” Carle said. “He can say, ‘Hey I have been in those shoes before.’ And he can offer his guidance and support where it’s needed.”

Leadership works best when it’s organic. Players see through eye-wash and teacher’s pets. At a program like DU, where success is measured by trophies, a “C” on the jersey is not an honor, but an enormous responsibility.

“You have to be yourself. You go through here, play for three years and everyone knows who you are,” King said. “And if you try to be someone you are not, it’s tough to create that right culture in the room.”

King is a blend of humility and confidence. His unlikely journey at DU — he began his career on a partial scholarship — helps his message land with teammates.

“He knows what the group needs and how to bring out the best in each player,” said goalie Matt Davis, who is also one of King’s roommates. “I think that is extremely valuable. He doesn’t just throw out blanket statements. He really makes sure that everyone in the room is doing OK.”

Added forward Connor Caponi, “We just look at him every day, and he’s doing everything right.”

If King’s senior season ended today, it would serve as a shining example of what is right with sports, proof that new vines can swing within reach. But King’s chapter is part of DU’s story, what makes the Pioneers the team of the current decade.

DU’s roster is littered with draft picks and future NHL players. King has played himself into a likely free-agent contract after the season (Wouldn’t it be cool if he signed with his hometown Calgary Flames?).

His journey is proof of DU’s meritocracy, of turning unheralded players into cornerstone pieces. Entitlement does not win titles.

“I think the great part about here is that if you put in that honest work and show improvement, you are going to get treated fairly and you are going to get an opportunity. We don’t really care how you started, or what you did in junior hockey. We are trying to reward and elevate people we think give us the best chance to win,” Carle said. “Carter didn’t shy away from tough conversations. He leaned into it and owned it.”

King sits second on the team in goals (21) and fifth in assists (43). But one statistic illuminates his evolution in the program. At the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Carle was unhappy with the team’s work on draws. The coaching staff held a face-off competition.

King won, and hasn’t stopped, recording 529 face-off victories this season, ranking second in the nation.

“I probably surprised them,” said King, a former center who had experience on draws in youth hockey. “I had to get a little lucky. It’s stuff like that you look back on and think, ‘What a crazy moment.’”

King’s focus on goals extends beyond the ice. He recently graduated with a degree in molecular biology. Not exactly an easy major while trying to find your footing in the nation’s top hockey program.

“I was always interested in science and learning about the body. I would love to get into the neurology side and work with concussions,” King said. “I have had a couple of concussions myself. And just the whole process of retraining the mind and coming out of that and healing the mind is something I am very interested in.”

There is a lesson in everything King has done. In a fluid collegiate sports landscape, he shows the value of hard work, the ability to turn interruptions into inspiration.

King was barely on the Pioneers’ radar five years ago. Now, watching him perform, seeing that C on his sweater, it is uncomfortable to think where they would be without him.

“When I was coming in, I was just hoping to crack the lineup my junior or senior year and make an impact as a role player. To be able to do what I am doing now, I definitely don’t take it for granted,” King said. “It would mean everything to win a third championship. What this place has done for me, to leave a legacy like that, I don’t even know how to put that into words.”

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