The Next Big Goalie?

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

CALGARY - The day had arrived. Jacques Lafontaine was on his seat, excited and kind of nervous. It was draft day. It was time for him to officially become a player in the Victory Hockey League. He was projected to be 4th overall by a lot of experts and was considered the best goaltending prospect of his draft class. When the day of the draft came around and it was time for the teams to pick their players, he waited anxiously to see which team would draft him.

 

Well, he didn’t have to wait long. As you could probably tell by the first word of this article, he was drafted by the Calgary Wranglers. The experts were right as he was drafted 4th overall by the Calgarian team. Or maybe they were right because it was the obvious decision. Out of nowhere, Calgary lost two of their goaltenders this season with the retirements of veteran goalie Brick Wahl who would have been entering his 7th season and the surprising retirement of the young Fang Flashback, Lafontaine’s teammate on Team Canada for the World Junior Championships. As he went onto the stage, he had a huge smile on his face, lifting up the jersey he will soon wear.

 

“Yeah, it was a great feeling being drafted. It was a time to look back and see how far I’ve come from my defenseman days. But it was also time to look forward and think about my future. I am so grateful that the Wranglers decided to draft me.”

 

Last season, Jacques had a historic and extraordinary season with the dominant Saskatoon Wild. He won 68 of 72 games, putting up an impressive record of 68 wins and 4 losses with no overtime losses. He proved how solid he was in the net with an impressive Goals Against Average of 1.83 as well as an outstanding 0.900 save percentage. He also blanked his opponent 5 times that season. That momentum carried on to the playoffs as Lafontaine only lost 2 games on route to a Founders Cup win with the Wild. He continued to be solid as he had a Goals Against Average of 2.28 and a save percentage of 0.899, as well as two shutouts.

 

“It was a good season. Everything was going right and we were just dominant. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of the team’s history.”

 

Speaking of the Saskatoon Wild, the two Calgary picks above him were also part of the historic season the Wild had. At first overall, the defenceman Edwin THE Encarnacion was chosen by the Wranglers who was followed up by the second overall pick, Mikko Lahtinen. They also proved that they were formidable and excellent hockey players.

 

“Yeah, it’s great that I’m being joined by these two guys. I’m glad that there will be two guys in the locker room that I know. They are great players and I can’t wait to see what they can do.”

 

Anyways, congratulations to Jacques and all the draftees. We wish them the best of luck this season.