Carter Mazur is a “good overall player and good in all situations,” said General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings Shawn Horcoff in a video on the Detroit Red Wings YouTube page. When it comes to stopping Mazur on defense, he is a maze to read on the ice.
Before Denver, Mazur played for the USHL and was named Captain of the Tri-City Storm in his second season with the team. Mazur registered 13 points in 47 games for the Storm in his first season, and he was surprised to be named team captain the next season. Still, his teammates had faith in him, which made the moment so special.
“I had a really tough first year there, but I really felt I led a lot through my actions and how I played,” Mazur said. “So going into my second year, I didn’t expect to be named team captain but being named team captain was pretty special.”
Mazur’s hometown is Jackson, Michigan, and at DU he is an undergraduate psychology major. When he is not scoring goals he is hanging out with his friends and playing video games.
Mazur’s resume is long: National Champion in 2022, NCHC Rookie of the Year and NCHC Academic All-Conference Team. In addition, Mazur was invited to the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp in 2022 and represented Team USA at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships. In the championships, Mazur recorded five goals—second-highest overall in the tournament—and was named one of the three best players for the US. For Mazur, however, the best moment was not what happened on the court, but who was watching.
“Wearing that USA crest on the front of your jersey is pretty special,” he said. “Seeing my grandpa see me wearing the USA jersey hit home in a way.”
Mazur said he had fantastic coaches growing up, one of those being his dad, Jay Mazur. He was a forward who played for the Vancouver Canucks between 1988 and 1992 before spending the rest of his career in the minor leagues and retiring in 2001.
Another influence in Mazur’s career was Kris Draper, former Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Champion and former head coach for the esteemed Little Caesars AAA Youth Hockey Club. Mazur described how Draper would bring in NHL players as a great way for Mazur to learn from the best athletes in the world.
“He brought in a lot of guys to show us the right way to play hockey,” Mazur said.
Carter has a simple pregame routine that has no script except to match the flow of his teammates. But blocking out the noise on social media is really important in Mazur’s perspective for keeping his head in the game.
“I block out social media in most ways so I don’t look at that because I feel social media has a big impact on [negativity],” he said.
Despite the social media blinders, the pressure is on the Crimson and Gold to repeat another championship and earn their 10th title. By shifting his focus away from the public, Mazur finds motivation every day in his teammates—the band of brothers he goes to battle with every day.
“It’s my team, and my team helps me succeed, and it’s not goals that you reach by yourself; you have your team behind you to help you reach that goal,” he said.
Still, with victory on their mind, Mazur realizes the difficulty of building a dynasty, as well as what it could mean for the professional future of him and his teammates
“It’s hard to win one, but it’s hard[er] to go back to back, so I would say to keep winning that excels your career,” he said.
As an assistant captain of DU’s team, Mazur is a leader with simple advice for his teammates: “Be yourself out there when everything goes right; you feel better about yourself,”
That genuine reflection is key to Mazur’s philosophy, describing a winner, not in terms of the record they hold, but according to the quality of their character.
“I know it’s pretty obvious to say winning games [is most important],” he said. “But I’d say a winner to me is someone that is a leader and takes people with them as they go and teaches them the right ways,”
Mazur was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in Round 3 (70th Overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
When he was eight years old, he drew a picture that said, “I can be an NHL player for the Detroit Red Wings and give money to the poor.”
“Seeing that photo and realiz[ing] that a dream is coming true is pretty special and makes me want to keep chasing it even more,” he said.
