PACK MENTALITY: GABRIEL CARRIERE
Aug 20, 2026HARTFORD, CT – For goaltender Gabriel Carriere, the 2026-27 season represents a new chapter in his career. After two seasons in San Jose with the AHL’s Barracuda, Carriere hit the free agent market for the first time on Jul. 1.
After a short process, Carriere elected to sign with the Hartford Wolf Pack on a one-year term. It’s a decision that has him excited for what is ahead. It’s a fit that he believes is right for him.
“Free agency was something I'd never gone through and going into it Hartford was a team that was interested from the beginning,” he said of the free agent process. “From the conversations we've had it seemed like a great fit from the staff to the players and the city. I'm excited to get there and meet everyone in person and get things going.”
After a successful career at the Univ. of Vermont, Carriere joined the Barracuda at the end of the 2023-24 season. He then split the 2024-25 season between the Barracuda and the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, then spent a majority of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL.
This most recent season was his best. He appeared in an AHL career-high 31 games for the Barracuda, posting a 15-12-3 record with an .896 save percentage and a 2.76 goals against average.
With a career-year behind him, Carriere is excited to build off that in a new home with new faces around him. He’s also excited about the way the summer has unfolded, with the Wolf Pack likely to ice a strong defensive group with quite a few veterans.
“It's very exciting,” he said. “Joining a new team, there's always going to be new faces, and it looks like we're going to have a great group on the back end. I'm excited to see what we're going to be able to accomplish.”
Among the many changes for the Wolf Pack this summer was behind the bench. There, longtime defenseman Jay Leach has taken over. During his time as the head coach of the Providence Bruins (2017-18 – 2020-21), Leach guided the club to a top-ten finish in the league in goals against in all four of his seasons.
Additionally, both the Wolf Pack and parent New York Rangers made numerous free agent and trade additions that could provide the Wolf Pack with a veteran group of accomplished defensemen for the 2026-27 season.
That is music to the ears of Carriere, a goaltender looking to continue his upward trajectory.
“That's always something you love to hear as a goalie,” Carriere said when asked about the offseason. “I might be a bit biased, but I believe that defense can win championships and having emphasis on that from the top down is definitely something I'm looking forward to this season.”
Carriere is also hoping to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate, Georgii Romanov. Romanov and Carriere were part of San Jose’s goaltending group for parts of two seasons together before Romanov moved on last summer.
He ended up with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he found his rhythm. Romanov was a huge part of Springfield’s run to the Atlantic Division Finals last spring. Carriere, who kept an eye on his former teammate, is hoping a similar change of scenery leads to similar results this season.
“I'm super happy for him,” he said of his former teammate. “I was following a little bit throughout playoffs, and he did an amazing job. Sometimes a change of scenery is all that you need for something to click and I can't wait to see what I can bring to the table for this Hartford team.”
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at PeoplesBank Arena. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle, and Matt Rempe. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.