The Incredible Story on Why Carter Hart Wears 79

The story behind Hart's No. 79 was first reported by PhillyVoice's Joe Santoliquito. Though Hart originally wore No. 70 in part because it was Braden Holtby's number, he chose to stay with his development camp number, 79, after one of his biggest young fans — a 7-year-old boy with autism named Connor — purchased the jersey and attended one of Hart's junior games wearing it. Hart has kept it ever since, and he remains in touch with Connor and his family.

They're actually coming on the road trip to Cali and Vegas and Arizona, so I'll see them there. They're going to come to every game on that trip, so it'll be cool to see them again. They were at our game in Vancouver in October earlier in the year. His dad always texts me when Connor has something he wants to ask me, or something like that. The other day, they built a little mini hockey rink in their house, and they wanted to show me it. It actually looks pretty cool!


You know what? Hockey's a great sport. It's for everyone. Especially when you're young, and you're growing up, and first starting to play the game. Those were some of the best memories — when you're first learning to skate, and you're just coming to the rink every day with your friends. I've met so many people through the game of hockey. And it's done so many things for me that I'll never be able to. I don't know, it's hard to say. Hockey's our livelihood, and I just want other people to enjoy the game as well. There's a lot of life lessons in this game, and I've met friends for life in this game, so hopefully other kids will have the same opportunity.