Anson Carter (2024) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Anson Carter

Induction:
2024
Class:
1996

Anson Carter
Hockey (1992-96)
Scarborough, Ontario
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2024

A prolific scorer. An All-American. A Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. A professional hockey player. A trailblazer and a role model, and now one of the faces of the National Hockey League.

And now, Anson Carter can add "Michigan State Athletics Hall-of-Fame" to his list of accolades.

"I certainly wasn't expecting it," noted Carter. "(Vice President and Director of Athletics) Alan Haller called to tell me that I was going to be a part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class, I was speechless. Thinking about it now, even - I am starting to get chills.

"Thinking back to my time in East Lansing, you don't go to college thinking about being in the Hall of Fame. You go to college to grow into a young man and try to become a better person. I remember how I would walk through the football facility, through Munn Ice Arena - I got to see all the history and the heritage, and all the proud Spartans who came before me. To think that I am going to be one of them, it is quite the honor. I'm thrilled."

Carter excelled on the ice for more than 15 years in the collegiate and professional game, spending his entire four-year career in Green and White before spending more than a decade in the National Hockey League.

"I played 11 years in the National Hockey League and you think that would be the best time in your life. But I tell my kids - my four years at MSU were actually the best years of my life," admits Carter. "Wearing that jersey is everything; It's a sense of pride. It's something that is hard to put into words."

The Scarborough, Ontario, native came to MSU as a 10th-round pick (No. 220 overall) of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1992 NHL entry draft. He still ranks among MSU's all-time scoring leaders; currently standing sixth in goals (106), fourth in power-play goals (40), and third in shorthanded tallies (11); his 178 career points finds him 22nd all-time.

He was the team's Outstanding Rookie in 1993, won the team's Outstanding Offensive Player Award in both 1995 and 1996, and in his senior season, was the recipient of the Bill Burgess Outstanding Senior Award as well as the Amo Bessone Award, which recognizes a player for academic and athletic achievement in addition to involvement in the community. In terms of league recognition, he was the CCHA Rookie of the Year in 1993, and was an All-CCHA pick from 1994-96, including first-team honors as both a sophomore and junior. He helped guide the Spartans to the CCHA Championship weekend all four seasons and the NCAA Tournament in three.

As a junior in 1995, Carter had a team-best 34 goals and finished with 51 points, and was named an All-American in addition to being a Hobey Baker finalist. Carter would go on to play 11 seasons in the NHL.

Carter has never been far from the game – he now serves as one of the studio analysts for the NHL on TNT, and is a charter member of the NHL's Player Inclusion Coalition, which takes action to accelerate the growing movement for inclusion across the hockey community to educate and engage at all levels of the game.

During consecutive March nights in the studio, while discussing the games of the day and how the NHL playoff picture was developing, Carter wore the iconic script Michigan State jersey to celebrate the 2024 Spartan squad winning the Big Ten Championship. Proudly, the #22 jersey featured the captain's "C".

As he said – wearing that jersey is everything.