Carter Sanderson overcame long odds when he was picked in the sixth round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Less than two years later, the first-ever NHL draft pick from little South Dakota is making a strong case to crack the U.S. world junior roster.
After raising eyebrows by finishing third on a stacked U.S. team in scoring at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor, Ont., the six-foot-two Sanderson has continued his torrid pace in his first year with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen. The 19-year-old power forward leads the entire CHL with 15 goals in 11 games after jumping to Calgary following two runs to the USHL final with the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
"It's funny how it works," Hitmen general manager Cass Bruni said over the telephone this week. "I was talking to Carter the other day and I said 'Hey, when we were recruiting you, I think our big pitch was we think we would be best to develop your offensive game.' But we didn't think it would go this way, to be candid.
"I don't know if we expect any player to come in their first year, regardless of how old he is, to start the way he has. It's unprecedented. Especially given what his numbers were last year (17 goals in 54 regular-season games), it's a really special start to the season he's had."
Sanderson made such a great first impression on and off the ice that he was named Hitmen captain, a big rarity for a first-year player in major junior. He had experience wearing the 'C' when he took over as Muskegon captain midway through last season when Tynan Lawrence, picked 11th overall by the St. Louis Blues in this year's draft, left to play at Boston University.
To the person who perhaps knows him best as a hockey player and athlete, the Hitmen's captaincy decision and Sanderson's start are not huge surprises.
Noelle Needham, a former Toronto Maple Leafs scout and NCAA women's hockey player at Minnesota State, coached Sanderson in 2023-24 with the Sioux Falls Power under-16 team after he spent a year at a Minnesota prep school. She also has worked with him for on- and off-ice training every summer since the U-16 season. The summer training group includes the first and only player from South Dakota to play in the NHL — the undrafted Walker Duehr, who has been "a great influence," for Sanderson, Needham said
Bruni and Needham have developed a strong working relationship, with two of her other former players also on the Hitmen roster. She recommended Sanderson as a listed player for Bruni, allowing the Hitmen to talk with him this summer.
North Dakota, where Sanderson is a committed to play NCAA hockey, Sanderson and his agent all felt another year of development in the WHL would be beneficial before entering the college ranks. Sanderson is part of a 2027 North Dakota class that also includes twin brothers and fellow Penguins picks Liam and Markus Ruck of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers.
"He's a physical specimen," said Needham, who sees some Mark Stone qualities in Sanderson's game. "The kid's a cowboy ... It's the real deal. He has a different threshold for pain, he's going to block the shot, it doesn't faze him. He wants to score goals, he's a really great leader.
"I think he's going to be a leader at the highest level. He is excited about getting better every single day. He's kind of a unicorn. All these agents, they pamper these kids, they're promoting how great they are and everything like that. He's never had that. He's just excited about being a really good player and a really good team guy and he loves to win. I think what so prevalent in his career is wherever he's been in junior ... he's won."
The cowboy description fits for a player who comes from South Dakota, where rodeo is the official state sport.
The only child of Nathan (the executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association) and Tiffany (the president of a state college and previously South Dakota's Secretary of Education), Carter has worked on his family's farm for the past five years.
"I did some mutton busting, I tried bull riding a couple times, it wasn't my thing," said Sanderson, who got into hockey at a young age and now tries to play a similar style as Tom Wilson and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk.
"Growing up, I lived on a farm, I was always around it. All my uncles did rodeo of some sort and I kind of tried to get into it, but ultimately I decided hockey."
After putting up modest numbers (five goals and six assists in 48 games) in his first USHL season on a champion Muskegon team, Sanderson was well outside the draft spotlight in 2025. Born on Sept. 12, 2007, he wouldn't have even been eligible until 2026 if he was born four days later.
"Honestly, I didn't really expect to be drafted," he said. "I wasn't going to go to the draft. Me and my parents were just watching it at home. There wasn't a whole lot around that. If I did get picked, I expected it to be in the sixth or seventh round. I was thinking maybe if I didn't get drafted that year, I would go higher the year after. I'm super glad how it all worked out and it's obviously going really well."
Now, he has a real shot to be selected to play for the U.S. at the world juniors just a short drive away in Red Deer and Edmonton. Sanderson is leading a Hitmen team (8-5) that has won four of its last five and sits two points behind Red Deer for first in the Central Division heading into Friday's road game against the Rebels.
"I don't know the U.S. (players) as well as some other people do, but all I know is they don't have a player like Carter," said Bruni, who calls Sanderson "one of the most natural leaders" he has associated with in the sport.
"He can play anywhere in your lineup. He's obviously shown his offensive abilities but he's versatile and he's going to be able to bring things in a tough game against the Canadians or the Swedes or whoever you're playing. The player I want out against a team's best players in a tough part of the game in the biggest games is Carter."
Needham says Sanderson's off-ice habits — "big gym guy, super disciplined in his eating, he's gluten free, he brings his own lunch, makes his own food" — also stand out.
"I think this kid is going to be a captain in the NHL one day," she said. " I know a lot of guys that are going to play in the NHL and I know a lot of guys that do play in the NHL. I've trained and went to school with a lot of guys that have been captains in the NHL.
"I think Carter is cut from that cloth."
Games to watch
Guelph Storm (10-3) at Soo Greyhounds (10-4-1), Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET
The top two teams in the OHL's Western Conference square off. Guelph's Ryan Roobroeck (Chicago Blackhawks) is tied for the league goal-scoring lead.
North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-2) vs. Michigan State Spartans (4-1), Saturday in Austin, Texas, 8:07 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
An NCAA single-game record 13 NHL first-round picks will play in the 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Four Calgary Flames first-rounders — North Dakota forward Cole Reschny and defenceman Carson Carels, and Michigan State forwards Cullen Potter and Jack Hextall — will be in action.
Rimouski Oceanic (8-3-2) at Victoriaville Tigres (10-3-1), Sunday. 4 p.m. ET
Six-foot-six Czech forward Maxmilian Mares (13 points in 13 games with Rimouski) is an intriguing 2027 NHL Draft prospect. Colorado Avalanche second-round pick Egor Shilov is having a big start for Victoriaville (21 points in 14 games).
U17 World Challenge, Nov. 1-7 in Oakville, Ont.
Regina Pats 16-year-old sensations Liam Pue (Canada Red) and Maddox Schultz (Canada White) are on different teams in an international showcase for 2028 and '29 NHL Draft-eligible players. Canada White also includes 15-year-old Madden Daneault.
