VOORHEES — It’s only going to get harder for Carter Hart to find a reprieve from the pressure and attention that comes with one of the most scrutinized positions in Philadelphia sports.

The 21-year-old goalie heading into his second NHL season with the Flyers is as prepared for it as any young hockey player could be. Since he was about 10 years old, he’s been working with sports psychologist John Stevenson, whose other most famous hockey client is Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. Hart and Stevenson have been working on blocking out the noise that comes with the position, the city and the success.

“Last year the biggest thing is focusing on what you’re doing and the team. That’s where your focus stays at,” Hart explained Tuesday after his first informal skate with teammates. Training camp doesn’t officially start until Sept. 13. “I think there’s a big part where you keep your focus at the rink when you’re here and then when you’re at home, you’re at home. You’re doing other things and getting your mind off hockey and other things. For example, playing the guitar is something I’ve really gotten into. That’s a piece to help me get away from the game sometimes and put my focus on something else. I find that really crucial in an 82 game season is to make sure you find that balance.”

Hockey will throw Hart curveballs, whether it’s a more talented opposition or changes in the game or injuries. So too will life and trying to keep some level of anonymity in a city that craves sports and wants to be close to its heroes.

That brings us to July, when Hart spent a bit of time in the area after starting his offseason at home in suburban Edmonton. The Flyers goalie was at the Apple store in Marlton when he saw a different level of fandom than he was used to.

“I was walking in there and this guy came up to me and was like, ‘Hey Carter! Good to see that you’re back. Come meet Carter.’ It was their newborn baby,” Hart said. “I was like, ‘Oh, really?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, we were watching one of your games and thought that would be a cool name.’

“That’s something new to me that was pretty cool, that there was a baby named after me. That’s pretty crazy.”

The encounter with his namesake infant made all the hype and expectations real. Part of blocking out the noise was Hart deleting his Twitter account, so he doesn’t typically see fan reaction to his play or the Flyers’ play. When he’s not at the rink he’s trying to take up more hobbies like the guitar so he doesn’t get too caught up in the mental mind games that can come with playing goalie.

Sometimes it even includes taking up a new sport.

Hart was on Canada’s World Championship squad in Slovakia and across the street from the team hotel was a gym with a squash court. He and New Jersey Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood played regularly, along with one of Blackwood’s buddies. It reminded Hart of the squash court that’s less than a mile from his home in Alberta.

“I knew it was there, but I never really played,” he said. “Then I got into it and mostly it’s a lot of old men that play, but it’s actually really, really fun.

“It’s like racquetball but it’s a dead ball. So instead of a bouncier ball, it’s dead and you’ve got to run to it most of the time. It’s a good workout. It’s actually tough. It’s fun. I played that a lot this summer. I got the goggles and a headband and everything. It was a lot of fun.”

Hart took a week off from training after the tournament was over in May and didn’t go on the ice for about six weeks. Tons of squash, though. Keeping in shape that way is all part of the preparation for his next act after a whirlwind rookie season.

His start in Lehigh Valley was rocky after being pulled twice in his first nine starts. In junior hockey he had been nearly unstoppable and helped Canada win the World Junior Championships the prior season. To be allowing 3.05 goals against average in his 18 games in the American Hockey League was quite the awakening.

He rebounded in December when he was recalled by the Flyers and finished his season with a .917 save percentage in 31 NHL games and was ninth in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s best rookie.

“It’s a good thing, a good sign if he’s really focused,” Flyers center Sean Couturier said. “We saw it since he got called up that he’s really mature beyond his years. It’s a good thing if he’s down to Earth and focused on hockey. It’s easy to have tests early in your career and you take it easy and get caught into some distractions but he’s a great kid, really mature and it’s good. He wants to get better and that’s the biggest quality you can have in a young goalie. Even if he has success, he wants to be better, the best he can be. Hopefully he continues to improve.”

“It’s nice to be back, get settled in,” Hart added. “I’ve got about 10 days until camp starts so it’s nice to get back in here, get reacclimated with the guys. It’s good to get back here with the guys and see the familiar faces again with this training staff and coaches and meet some of the new guys as well. I’m excited to play with some of these new guys and get things rolling.”

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Dave Isaac joined the Courier-Post in April 2012 after covering the Flyers for three seasons elsewhere. Contact him on Twitter @davegisaac or by email at disaac@gannett.com.

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