The 33-year-old, experienced shot-stopper joins the club from Norwegian side, Sparta Sarpsborg, where he featured in 26 games and recoded a regular season save percentage (SVS%) of .912 and a goals against average (GAA) of 2.37. Kevin also held a 1.95 GAA and SVS% of .918 across five playoff matches.
Born in Unionville, Ontario, Carr will be most recognisable to Stars fans because of his two seasons spent with our EIHL competitors, Nottingham Panthers in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 campaigns.
Kevin totalled 84 Elite League appearances, 17 more in the Challenge Cup, two in the playoffs and also 4 games in the 2019-2020 Continental Cup with Nottingham.
During his first year at the Motorpoint Arena, the 6-foot-1-inch-tall, goalie won 24 of his 45 games, before COVID-19 halted the season and he also led the league in shutouts with four clean sheets and had a GAA of 2.44, with a SVS% of 9.18.
In the Continental Cup, the Canadian started in four of the six contests, winning three and taking his only loss by way of a shootout, as well as recording a 1.96 GAA and .945 SVS%.
After a season back in North America, during the pandemic, Kevin returned to Nottingham when the Elite League resumed in 2021 and would make 47 regular season appearances, in which he posted a GAA of 3 and a SVS% of .911, along with 23 wins and three shutouts.
Carr has also played over 200 games in the ECHL with four different clubs, including; Colorado Eagles, Tulsa Oilers, Alaska Aces and Utah Grizzlies, as well as earning a professional try-out contract with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks in 2016, where he would join their training camp and eventually their ECHL affiliate, Alaska.
The left-handed keeper also spent four years playing at the collegiate level with Buffalo State College between 2010 and 2014, where he would earn all-conference honours in three of his four seasons with the Bengals after helping them to three consecutive conference semi-finals.
LEFEBVRE ON CARR
After adding Carr to the goaltending department, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “I am very delighted to have Kevin in our crease this season.
“It took a bit of time to get the deal done but he ticks all the right boxes for the qualities we are looking for in our goalie and he knows this league well and has had success in it before.
“We had to be patient with this one, it took some time to get it over the line but thankfully we got it done and Kevin is a professional and he wanted to make sure everything was professional on his side and we want a professional like him in our line-up.
“He has played at high levels in Europe and north America, but he is a great guy all-round as well.”
Discussing his previous time in the Elite League, LeFebvre continued: “He led the league in shutouts one season then obviously he played for a big club like Nottingham, so he knows the ins and outs of the league quite well.
“So, it was not about selling him on the league, more on our club, the city itself and what to expect next season and we are glad we have him.”
The Canadian coach then explained where he thinks Carr’s game is at currently and how he can be important influence in the dressing room.
He added: “Experience is key and we think he has gotten better since his time in Nottingham and we need an experienced goaltender, with a professional attitude like Kevin, who is going to have a high work-rate.
“Also, we think he is going to rub off well with Lucas Brine, but just having Kevin in our locker room will be a great presence as well.
“The backbone to any team is goaltending and with the experience he has, it is going to bleed into our dressing room with our other guys and we need to protect him at all costs in front of the net.
“Goaltending is key, no matter what league you are in and when he was in Nottingham, he gave them a chance to win every night and that is what we expect of him, here in Dundee.
“If he plays like he did in Nottingham, for the most part, then we are going to have a successful season.”
Listen to the full interview below!
CARR ON RETURNING TO THE ELITE LEAGUE AS A STAR
Hear from Kevin after he put pen to paper on a deal that sees him return to the EIHL, but this time as a Dundee Star!
CARR’S CAREER
Kevin’s career started back in 2009 with the Atlanta Jr. Knights, where posted a league best GAA (1.01) and SVS% (.954), at age 19. He then committed to Buffalo State for the next four years and would be named as an alternate captain in his final two seasons.
At the end of his senior year in college, Carr turned professional with the Southern Professional Hockey League’s (SPHL), Peoria Rivermen, playing six matches for the Illinois based club.
In the 2015-2016 campaign, he signed with Tulsa Oilers and played his first full season of pro hockey, featuring 57 times and winning a career high 30 matches, before earning an extension and staying with the club for another year.
In the summer of 2016, Carr was given his shot with Vancouver Canucks at their NHL training camp and would go on to join their ECHL farm team, Alaska Aces, where he again impressed and won a professional try out contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 2017-2018 season then saw the goaltender ply his trade for Utah Grizzlies but midseason he would make his first venture into Europe as he joined Croation side, Medvescak Zagreb in the multi-nation EBEL, now known as the ICEHL.
Carr would return to Utah for the following season and had another impressive run in the ECHL, which tempted the Panthers to bring him to the Elite League.
After COVID-19 shutdown hockey in the UK, Kevin spent the 2020-2021 season back in America, signing a two-way AHL contract with Colorado Eagles and their ECHL-affiliate, Utah.
As soon as hockey resumed in the UK, Nottingham brought Carr straight back and after a fourth-place finish in the league and losing in the playoff Quarter-Finals to Guildford Flames, he moved on and would spend last season in the Norwegian topflight.
In his 15-year-career so far, Kevin has featured in 514 matches, recorded 24 shutouts, at least 179 wins, he has held a SVS% above .900 in every league he has played in and also in every season, except for one.
Kevin is our 15th signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Lucas Brine, Kris Inglis, Jonathan McBean, Craig Moore, Craig Garrigan, Johnny Walker, Josh Brittain, Chris McKay, Ryan Valentini, Brendan Harms, Carter Johnson, Tommy Parrottino and James Phelan on the roster for next season.
Carr has shared a dressing room with a few former Stars throughout his career, such as; Marc Cheverie, Jordan Kelsall, Alex Leclerc and Cole Fraser but also one of this season’s new signings, as he spent two years playing alongside Brendan Harms during his time with Utah Grizzlies.
Carr will wear #37 for the Stars and you can sponsor his equipment for this season right now, click HERE.
To see Kevin’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
Featured and Banner Images: Panthers Images.
