[sureLoss]

Carroll. A goal scorer and a pest

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Carrol...174/story.html

Austin Carroll can score goals, but he prides himself on being a pest too.

Growing up in Arizona, the Victoria Royals left-winger has a pretty good role model in the latter regard.

“Claude Lemieux lived down there,” Carroll said. “He helped me from a young age and we still talk now. He was a big influence on my career.

“He definitely brings that side out in me for sure.”

Carroll and the Royals played host to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday, a game that finished after press deadline.

The 20-year-old entered the game tied for fifth in league scoring with 36 points, backed by 20 goals. He had 59 penalty minutes, too.

Carroll was born in Calgary, but moved to California and then to Arizona when he was six after his father wanted to tap into the real estate market there.

He went from a traditional hockey hotbed to one still in its infancy.

But as he got older, Carroll started to get to know some former NHLers living near his Scottsdale home.

“If you have the willpower and desire to play, you can definitely develop your career there,” Carroll said.

The biggest mentor was Lemieux.

A four-time Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Lemieux played 1,215 NHL games and notched 786 points with 1,777 penalty minutes.

Carroll also became close with Lemieux’s son, Brendan — a Buffalo Sabres prospect who plays for the Ontario league’s Barrie Colts.

Brendan’s game is similar to that of his old man’s.

“We spend a lot of time in the summers, living together,” Carroll said. “We’re like brothers. We definitely bring out the pesky sides out in each other.”