Muskegon salutes Carter Sanderson after championship run and captaincy role

Muskegon closed its salute to Carter Sanderson with the same themes that defined his time in the lineup: physical play, steady leadership and a championship standard that carried the Lumberjacks through two straight runs at the league’s biggest prize. Sanderson finished his Muskegon tenure as the club’s captain, a Clark Cup champion and a player whose rise from draft pick to room leader mirrored the franchise’s climb to the top of the USHL.

The Lumberjacks selected Sanderson in the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft, then gave him an opening-night roster spot for the 2024-25 season. He answered with the kind of game Muskegon wanted from him, a hard-working power forward who drove straight lines, finished checks and brought energy that could flip momentum. In 48 regular-season games that year, he posted 5 goals, 6 assists and 11 points, production that fit a role built as much on work rate as on scoring.

That season ended with Muskegon’s first Clark Cup. On May 20, 2025, Jack Christ finished a hat trick six minutes into overtime to beat Waterloo 4-3 and give the Lumberjacks the best-of-five final 3-2. Tynan Lawrence powered the postseason run and was named Clark Cup Playoffs MVP after putting up 8 goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games. Sanderson’s imprint was part of that title chase, and the organization later pointed to him as one of the players who helped carry the club into the 2025 Clark Cup Final.

His leadership grew even more visible the next season. Muskegon named Sanderson an alternate captain to start 2025-26, then elevated him to captain on Jan. 7, 2026. The club called it an easy decision, and the move reflected how quickly he had earned trust in the room. By then, Sanderson had already become one of the key pieces in Muskegon’s push to another Eastern Conference title and another trip to the Clark Cup Final.

His offensive touch grew with the responsibility. By January, Muskegon said he had 21 points in 26 games, nearly doubling his output from the year before while keeping the same physical edge that drew comparisons to Zach Hyman in the team’s NHL Draft preview.

Sanderson’s season also carried him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, making him the first South Dakotan selected in the draft. A North Dakota commit from Pierre, South Dakota, he is set to continue with the Calgary Hitmen, but Muskegon’s two-year run with him helped define the culture the Lumberjacks now expect to keep.