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AHL Belleville Senators

Carcone Thankful to Continue Playing Close to Home

October 4, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


Belleville or Toronto, it's still close to home for Mike Carcone.

"I've been lucky. Utica was four hours from home, Toronto was an hour, Belleville is an hour too. It doesn't matter if I'm in Toronto or Belleville, I'm still close to my family."

Never been traded, Carcone has experienced it twice within the last year. He was first sent from Utica to Toronto in December and this past summer was part of the Senators and Maple Leafs trade that also netted Ottawa Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown.

"My dad woke me up in the morning pretty early and told me I had been traded," Carcone said. "It was a bit of mixed emotions but mostly excitement knowing I had a good opportunity here going to a place that really wants me."

And the Senators proved that immediately, giving the 23-year-old a two-year, two-way extension.

"I have a young family and just had a boy at the end of April," Carcone said. "Receiving that contract gives me a lot of confidence and helps my family out a lot."

The Ajax, Ont., native earned it last season on the back of a career year. With the Comets and Marlies, Carcone notched career highs in goals (20), assists (24) and points (44). He also added 10 points in 13 playoff games with Toronto.

Last season, the Sens owned the Marlies winning eight of the 12 match-ups, meaning Carcone was often on the wrong side of the scoreline.

He hopes that continues in 2019-20 now he'll be donning the red, black and white of Belleville.

"I told [Sens head coach] Troy Mann when we talked in the summer that I thought personally Belleville was the best team [in the league] from that December-January time onwards.

"The way we play defensively is so sound and structured. Troy runs a tight ship and I think everyone just being on the same page as well creates a lot of the success here and I'm really happy to be a part of it."

As the Senators get set to open the season Saturday in Toronto, Carcone has been finding his feet with his new teammates. He played in Sunday's preseason contest with Laval and in practice has found himself on a line with Jordan Szwarz and Alex Formenton.

"It doesn't matter what jersey you're throwing on you're surrounded by new faces," Carcone said. "There's new staff, new players, new everything. So, it's a little bit of an uncomfortable feeling at first but everyone here has been really welcoming and made me feel at home. We have a tight group so it's made it easy."

Get in on the action throughout 2019-20 with Belleville Senators season tickets or flex packages. Single-game tickets are now on-sale through Dec. 31. And take advantage of our current special ticket offers.

The Senators' Opening Night presented by CAA Insurance takes place Oct. 11 and features an action-packed schedule.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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