Vegas Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) skates against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kevin Connauton (8) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Friday Dec. 10, 2021.
Monday, Dec. 27, 2021 | 2 a.m.
In many ways, a forward lineup is much like a house. There are so many pieces that make both more than the sum of their parts, and the top might catch more eyes and attention, but neither is anything without a foundation.
Golden Knights forward William Carrier knows a thing or two about both.
Carrier is the rock of the Golden Knights’ fourth line, rarely straying from his role as fourth-line winger since the team has existed. He’s also an amateur builder, and spent last summer helping with construction on his home.
“Always since I grew up I’ve liked building stuff, and I built my house back home when COVID hit,” Carrier said.
At the onset of the pandemic, when hockey shut down, Carrier returned home to the Montreal area with an unexpected amount of free time. He wanted his wife and newborn daughter to have a comfy place to stay when the Golden Knights went to the playoff bubble in Edmonton.
He contracted out most of the work, but hammer-and-nailed much of the interior himself. He returned to the home after Vegas’ playoff exit, and is planning on finishing a similar project for his parents this summer. Those kind of handyman skills don’t stay a secret. Those who have asked for his help include former Golden Knights players Ryan Reaves, Nick Holden and Brandon Pirri.
“He’s an awesome guy to be around, and he’s also my handyman,” Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said.
“Every time I have something to repair on my house, I call him and he shows up right away,” he said. “He’s been great for me for sure.”
Carrier rolled his eyes when Marchessault’s words made his way to him.
“Marchy always needs help around the house building stuff,” Carrier said. “Garage-door opener doesn’t work, things like that. Fireplace didn’t work a couple of times. Anytime he needs something, he calls me and I drive down there.”
“Every time I go over there he opens a bottle of wine so it ends up being more conversation than anything else,” Carrier said.
Much like on houses, Carrier has been a builder to what the Golden Knights have done over the past four years.
His scoring numbers don’t jump off the page — just 26 goals and 54 points in 238 games across parts of five seasons in Vegas — but his physicality sure does. Since 2017, he is third in the NHL in hits, with almost 20 per 60 minutes.
He’s been up the lineup when players were injured or when he’s been on a hot streak. But Carrier is as much a staple on the fourth line as Marchessault is as the left winger on a line with William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. And that reliability is valuable.
“He’s a big part of our identity as a four-line team,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “The ability to tilt the ice and set up the next shift, we talk about that all the time, and he’s one of those guys. Straight lines, forechecks, he turns pucks over.”
Vegas backed that talk up with a four-year extension for Carrier in February 2020, a month after DeBoer arrived as coach. There’s still three years left on that contract, and since Carrier is just 27-years-old, a few more contracts after that one. So retirement plans are still a ways away.
But once he’s not a hockey player anymore, there’s always the chance his hobby of building houses turns into a little bit more.
“Once I’m done playing, maybe I’ll push myself more into that,” Carrier said.
So should we expect Carrier Construction LLC to show up on Yelp pages someday?
He laughed. “Yes, a couple of years in Montreal you’ll find that,” he said.
