When you grow up as the youngest kid in your neighborhood, you don’t always get first choice of position when playing sports with the other neighborhood kids. For Wheeling Nailers goaltender Doug Carr and his road-hockey playing friends, he was the youngest among the group which didn’t always work out in his favor, even at the best of times.  Looking back, he now knows that it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him either.

“I grew up with older brothers and older neighbors so when we would get together for a game of street hockey, they left me no choice,” said Carr.  “If I wanted to play I had to be the goalie or not play at all.  I decided I didn’t want to be left out and that’s how I came to play the position.  As it turns out, I wasn’t too bad.”

Carr, a native of Hanover, Massachusetts, would develop into a fine goaltender, eventually playing Tier II junior hockey with the Valley Jr. Warriors and the South Shore Kings of the Eastern Junior Hockey League in Massachusetts, before venturing north of the border to play for the Cornwall Colts of the Canadian Junior Hockey League in Ontario, Canada.

Moving to Canada to pursue a career in hockey has become somewhat of a conventional route for some American born players, and for the native of Massachusetts, Carr enjoyed his time away from home while being aware of the exposure he could receive while playing hockey in Canada.  While he had always planned on staying close to home for college, he wanted to get a taste of life away from home first before enrolling in college studies. Carr credits his smooth transition to Canadian junior hockey based upon the recommendation from one of his brother’s college roommates who also played in Cornwall and had nothing but good things to say. “I was looking for a change in scenery and Cornwall seemed like it would be a good fit, so I packed up my gear and headed north.”

Following his first year in Cornwall, Carr was offered a scholarship to play Division I hockey for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.  He had always been attracted to college hockey from the sheer exposure the game receives in Massachusetts. So after he concluded his season in Cornwall, he packed up and headed back to Massachusetts to suit up for the River Hawks the following season. “I felt right away like UMass-Lowell was the perfect school for me. So when it came down to my final decision, I decided that’s where I was going to attend.”

Carr ended up playing four years at UMass-Lowell and was a key contributor to their on-ice success, especially after what can be described as a “lackluster” rookie season where he was plagued by injury.  Carr went on to turn the ship around for the River Hawks in his sophomore season with a sensational year. He posted a 22-10-1 record, was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award (best player in college hockey), and led the River Hawks to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 15 seasons.

In each of the following two seasons, UMass-Lowell again advanced to the NCAA tournament, with Carr sharing the crease with current Winnipeg Jets goalie, Connor Hellebuyck. “Connor and I had a very special relationship as a goaltending duo. We’re still great friends to this day and I’m glad we were able to push each other everyday to succeed.  Connor and I were supportive of each other, no matter the situation, no matter who was playing each night.”

Hellebuyck and Carr were among one of the best goaltending tandems in college hockey.  Both have since graduated to the professional level.  Carr heads into his third full season of pro, having split time between the ECHL and American Hockey League, while Hellebuyck heads into his first full season in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets. 

Carr has not been surprised with the amount of success his college friend and teammate has achieved. “Connor has a special talent. I’ve played with a lot of goalies and you could just see early on that he was special. As for the success we had together in college, it was something we would use to build off each other. We shared the same goal; we wanted to be the #1 and #2 goalies in the country, so we worked extremely hard to make sure we were in that discussion. I’m happy to see Connor has made a name for himself so early in his career.  He has earned it, especially with the amount of work he puts in day in and day out.”

After four years of college hockey and graduating with a degree, Carr left the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to pursue his professional career.  Although he went undrafted out of college, that didn’t stop Carr from landing a spot in the crease that same year with the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. Carr joined the team for the conclusion of Abbotsford’s 2013-14 season, playing in two regular season games, registering a win and a tie.

Since then, Carr has withstood the ups and downs between the AHL and ECHL, where he is currently the starting goaltender for the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. “Wheeling’s been great.  It’s the 25^th season of professional hockey here, and with so much tradition, there is so much support from the city, all the way to the NHL club. The Pittsburgh Penguins organization as a whole cares about your development, so that comfort makes Wheeling a great place to play.”

Carr credits the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA), the union for AHL and ECHL players, for allowing him to be comfortable with his transition back and forth between leagues while finding stability in his career. “I don’t think the guys realize how much the PHPA does for us as players.  From day one in professional hockey, they have been extremely supportive.  When you have a lot of movement in your career, it’s comforting to know that they will always look out for our best interests. It’s good to know you’re not alone.”

While Carr was at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, he earned a degree in Business Management with a Major in Marketing.  And while he continues to pursue professional hockey as his first passion, he also has his foot planted in a business venture called SidelineSwap.

Following his first year of professional hockey, Carr became involved in the company when he decided he wanted to put his degree to good use in order to remain financially solid long beyond his playing career was over.

“I came across SidelineSwap and really loved the idea. Being a startup company, it was fresh and something I thought I could really help given my background in business and hockey.  So one day I cold called the Founder, and we discussed the possibility of me getting involved with the hockey division of the company and it just took off from there.”

SidelineSwap is a trading and selling company, which specializes in used sports equipment. It was founded by multiple former college lacrosse players who were concerned with the cost of equipment, not only for lacrosse but for most sports. Coinciding with the idea of saving parents and players money, SidelineSwap was created to ease the pressure of buying and selling sports equipment in a more online setting.

Carr and his colleagues are aware of competitors like EBay and Play It Again Sports, which have experience selling used sports equipment. SidelineSwap differs from them however in that they have created a system using both, EBay’s specialization of sporting equipment, and Play it Again’s online sales methods.

Specializing in online sales, sidelineswap.com launched in June of 2015. The equipment being sold comes mainly from lacrosse, hockey, skiing, and baseball, with the majority of those products being of the highest quality.  The website is open to buyers and sellers of all nature, with the key feature being that the process to buy or sell has been made extremely simple.

“Most of the equipment comes from former college and professional athletes who have been given enough gear over the years that it builds up and never gets used. SidelineSwap is so great because we deal with top of the line equipment, and it’s usually sold at great prices. For the recreational athlete who wants to avoid paying top dollar for great equipment, this is the perfect place to solicit any kind of equipment. Our goal at the end of the day is to make sports more affordable for anyone interested.”

SidelineSwap’s goals align with making sports more affordable for everyone.  Carr explains they’re not only focused just on the buying and selling of equipment. “We have a number of key partnerships that help us bring affordable sports to various community groups. Through youth programs, sport camps, and a company called Restore Hockey, we are adept to help under privileged youth bridge the gap for families who cannot provide to put their children through sport.”

Carr, who has assumed the position of Hockey Lead for SidelineSwap, is constantly challenged with a busy schedule.  However, that won’t deter him from using his time to pursue both passions.

“I’m not going to kid myself and think hockey will last forever, but as long as I am playing it will always be the primary focus of my life. In the meantime, I still expect to stay as involved in SidelineSwap as much as I can while I’m playing the game I love.  It provides some balance to my life and keeps me busy when I’m away from the rink, and that’s something I have come to really enjoy.”

Carr is focused on maintaining and building relationships with key partners, as well as marketing his website to many current and former professional and college hockey players alike. “In the near future, I see SidelineSwap as the main online marketplace for buying and selling new and used sports equipment.  We continue to develop a number of tools related to our website, and we are just about to release an App which should make our process much simpler for buyers and sellers to access our equipment.  As somebody who grew up with an entire family well immersed in sport, a company like SidelineSwap would have been extremely beneficial to the financial aspect of having multiple athletes in our home.”

For now, Carr is taking things day-by-day and game-by-game with aspirations to advance to the next level of the sport.  He isn’t ready to sell his goalie equipment just yet.