Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Phantoms defenseman Carter Murphy flips the puck up the ice during a game last season against Team USA.

Carter Murphy has been waiting for his time to shine.

Last year, during his rookie season in the USHL, Murphy was in the bottom of the rotation, behind guys like Luke Osburn, Coleson Hanrahan and Kazimier Sobieski. The Phantoms defensive core was a hard group to crack into, and even harder to get the top minutes.

Murphy played in 54 games, but not in the role he’s typically accustomed to. While he thought he was ready for the big moments last year and wanted the chance to prove that, he knew that thriving in a smaller role and doing whatever it took to help the team win was the best way to prove himself.

“The really cool thing with Carter is that he didn’t have a perfect year last year, and I’m sure that he wanted to play more and have more opportunities,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “As a rookie in the league, you can sometimes feel like you know you deserve more or ‘Woe is me,’ and feel bad for yourself. Carter went the other way, and he was totally bought into his individual development and did what he had to do to get better. The biggest thing for Carter is his attitude and mindset. He is constantly working on his game. Physically, mentally, on the ice, off the ice, and I think that’s why you’ve seen him take such a big step.”

The work he put in the offseason has been paying off. Murphy has been playing in a much larger role, seeing top four minutes on the blueline and has shown his offensive prowess more. Through four games, Murphy had four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and already earned his first USHL Defenseman of the Week honors.

Learning under those guys last season got him ready for this year, when he knew he was going to be relied upon more.

“I had a different role in the D core (last year), for sure,” he said. “We had a lot of older defensemen. We were also stacked. In my opinion, we had the best D-core in the league. Getting to practice with them every day and seeing their little skills you pick up on, and how they handle the puck under pressure, or regroups and stuff like that. Moving around the blue line, especially from Osburn, and how good defensively he was and how he moved his feet across the blue line or coming into the zone, was very impressive. Picking up on that was definitely a lot, and seeing his work that he put in after practice too was definitely something I realized I needed to pick up on as well. Piggybacking off those guys last year has definitely helped me feel more comfortable this year during the season.”

That expanded role includes leadership as well.

While not wearing a letter on his jersey, Murphy is still one of the leaders in the Phantoms’ locker room this season. It’s a role that’s come naturally to him.

“I’ve always been a pretty loud kid,” Murphy said. “I always have a lot of energy, so coming into the rink, I try and push some of that onto the younger guys. I know early morning practices or these long travel days we have, they can get rough, but I try to keep the energy high and the mood light. When you get to this stage of hockey, it starts to kind of feel like a job, and you don’t want to lose sight of why you love doing what you do. You don’t want to lose sight of the kid in you and how much love you have for the game and why you began playing it. It gets a little long sometimes in the season, that’s how it is, but I just try to keep the mood light. That’s never going to change on the ice or off the ice.”

The Phantoms’ home-opener is set for Friday against Cedar Rapids. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.