(FREDERICTON, NB) The name ‘Carroll’ is returning to the back of a UNB Hockey jersey.
Noah Carroll, the younger brother of former Reds standout Tyler Carroll, has signed a U SPORTS Letter of Intent. He’ll join the Reds when their 2018 training camp opens on Friday.
“They just win, and that’s an addicting feeling,” said the younger Carroll. “I got a lick of that in the Soo last season and it’s a feeling I’m addicted to. This is my best chance to get a championship at this level. It’s also the best place for me to develop.”
Carroll capped a four-year major junior career by helping the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to the 2018 Ontario Hockey League final.
In 65 regular season games in 2017-18, Carroll recorded career bests with seven goals, and 30 assists. He added three more goals and three assists during the Greyhounds’ 24 game playoff run.
In 256 regular season OHL games with the Greyhounds and Guelph Storm, he scored 17 goals and 75 assists.
“Noah had a great OHL career,” said Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “He had a standout 20-year-old season, had some different pro options, but decided he wanted to attend UNB and we’re more than happy with that because he’s a high-level player.”
Carroll, a 6th round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Draft, will help fill the hole left by the graduation of fourth year defencemen Colin Suellentrop and the departure of gritty blue-liner Trey Lewis.
He’s attended training camps with the Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“We’re adding two outstanding defencemen this year,” said MacDougall. “Noah, a great left-handed defenceman, joins Joe Gatenby, a great right-handed defenceman. It’s a terrific combination for our program.”
Tyler Carroll played five seasons for UNB, winning a pair of University Cup championships(2013, 2016), and a national championship silver medal(2015).
“He stood his distance and let me make the decision,” said Noah, of his older brother. “He didn’t want to impose any bias. I want to be here for me, not because of him. It was my decision. We only talked about it after I’d made the decision.”
Noah says his brother is thrilled with the decision, and that both are excited about what lies ahead.
That appears to be where the similarities end.
“As players, we’re the exact opposite,” said Noah. “He’s more of a gritty, on the wall player. I have a little more skill. I use my speed, he uses his power. Regardless, we both like to win.”
An agile defender, Carroll figures he’ll fit well in UNB’s opportunistic offence.
“With my skating and the style of play we used in the Soo, I think I’ll be a good fit here. I play a two-way game. I can defend and jump up on offence.”
“This past season, he took his game to a new level, especially in the OHL playoffs,” said MacDougall. “He’s a competitor.”
Carroll will enter UNB’s Faculty of Kinesiology.