He shoots, he checkmates!

Oct. 19, 2003 – New York Rangers hockey star Anson Carter is trading pucks for pawns, at least for a day. He will be making the first move of game two, on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 1:00pm.

Anson Carter arrived in Toronto just in time to watch the Maple Leaf’s win the Stanley Cup in 1967. After his family immigrated to Canada from Barbados, Anson fell in love with the national sport of his new country. But before Anson developed his “ice legs” he had proven himself on the streets, playing neighborhood games of road hockey. There he quickly developed into a local legend, which could score from any position.

However, the transition to ice wasn’t as easy as would be expected. “We used to call him the Zamboni,” his mother has said of her son’s tendency to slide across the ice, somewhat like the ice-cleaning machine. “He was always on his rear”, his dad added, chuckling.” His ice cleaning escapades didn’t last long, and in a short time Anson was as agile and skilled on the ice as he was on the street.

Years of phenomenal amateur hockey lead to Anson being offered a scholarship to Michigan State University. As a team captain and 3-time All-American, Anson helped lead the Spartans to three NCAA tournament appearances. Always the multi-tasker, Anson was the leading scorer for the Spartans three of his four years at MSU, helped Michigan State win the Great Alaska Freeze Out in 1994 and lead Team Canada to the 1994 World Junior Championships. All while majoring in biology-pre-med.

Anson began his professional career with the Washington Capitals in 1996. After one season he was traded to the Boston Bruins. In the three seasons he spent with Boston, Anson emerged as one of the National Hockey League’s elite power forwards. In 2000, the Bruins traded Anson to the Edmonton Oilers where he was the leading scorer in the post season. After two productive seasons in Edmonton, Anson was part of a blockbuster trade that landed him in New York City with the illustrious Rangers. Anson’s career has been highlighted by great play in international competition. He has twice been a member of gold-medal Canadian World Cup Teams and in 2003 was MVP of Team Canada after scoring the winning overtime goal.

Off the ice, Anson has continually donated time, equipment and funds to various charities and organizations that support youth hockey. Carter has always been instrumental in trying to give inner city youths more access to the sport of hockey. With each of his teams, he has sponsored "Carter's Corner" in which he provides tickets for each home game to local community organizations to bring their participants. Anson believes that knowledge, passion and hard work are the keys to success and he spends countless hours sharing this with elementary and high school aged children. In 1996, Anson received the Boston Areas Sports Community Service Award for his work with the S.C.O.R.E. Boston Youth Hockey Program.

Anson is much more than an athlete. He’s an entrepreneur, an adventurer and a leader. His drive for success and his creative spirit has led him to create Big Up Entertainment, which specializes in fostering musical talent in Canada. His long-term vision for his company is to follow in the footsteps of Roca Fella Records and Bad Boy Entertainment, which both started in music and ultimately spread into fashion, media and sports.

During the off-season, the self-professed gadget guru splits his time between his home in Toronto and California. The always amenable California weather enables Anson to spend a lot of time outdoors with his one-year old Great Dane, Caine. He also loves to work out under the sun, rollerblade, work on his golf game and play a pick up game of basketball with friends.