While Kevin Weekes tends goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning, his best friend, Anson Carter, plays for the Edmonton Oilers, nearly 4,700 kilometres away.

Allen Abel will be hosting the Headliner this week. Scott Oake will be back next week for another edition of the Headliner.

Whatever adversity Tampa Bay goaltender Kevin Weekes faces, he knows that his best friend, Edmonton forward Anson Carter, will be there to listen.

Oct 28: Allen Abel looks at the friendship and shared heritage of Kevin Weekes and Anson Carter.

Weekes' Career Stats
YR	Team	GP	W	L	T	GAA
97-98	Fla	11	0	5	1	3.96
98-99	Van	11	0	8	1	3.83
99-00	Van	20	6	7	4	2.86
--	NYI	36	10	20	4	3.41
00-01	TB	16	6	7	1	3.52

"We talk four or five times a week, depending on the schedule," Weekes told The Boston Globe. "Anytime you have a great friend who is going through the same experience, he's good for a sounding board. We help each other out. We're going to be friends for a long while."

Ever since they were 12, Carter and Weekes have been inseparable, relying on each other guidance and support.

Unlike parents of virtually every other player in the NHL, Weekes and Carter didn't come from a rich hockey background.

Instead of having roots in hockey hotbeds such as southwestern Ontario, Alberta or Saskatchewan, Weekes and Carter have a Caribbean heritage. Both parents immigrated to Toronto from Barbados.

They picked up the sport when they realized that every kid in neighbourhood played hockey.

Carter's Career Stats
YR	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
96-97	Was	19	3	2	5	7
--	Bos	19	8	5	13	2
97-98	Bos	78	16	27	43	31
98-99	Bos	55	24	16	40	22
99-00	Bos	59	22	25	47	14
00-01	Edm	4	1	1	2	2

"Hockey was like a religion in that area, and I wanted to follow the crowd," Weekes said.

Growing up in Toronto, the two usually played on the same team and constantly kept in contact for emotional support.

It was a rough first few years in the NHL for Weekes. He bounced around with the Florida Panthers before a contract dispute and his eventual trade to the Vancouver Canucks. After a short stint in Vancouver, Weekes went to the New York Islanders. Despite a relatively solid season, the Islanders shipped him to the Tampa Bay Lightning to make room for No. 1 draft pick Rick DiPietro.

After another contract dispute with the Boston Bruins, Carter was recently traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Bill Guerin.

"It's really special that we're both playing in this league, playing against one another," Weekes said. "And maybe we'll be on the same team together eventually."