Kansas City Mavericks’ goaltender Jack LaFontaine is no stranger to individual success. The former University of Minnesota standout finished his college tenure with the second-best career goals-against average (2.29) and the third-best save percentage (0.920) in program history.
Added, LaFontaine picked up a number of accolades in his time with the Gophers: Mike Richter Award (2021), First Team All-American (2021), Big Ten Goaltender of the Year (2021), First Team All-Big Ten (2021), Hobey Baker Award Finalist (2021). The list goes on.
Now, the 26-year-old has the Mavericks on the cusp of a special season. LaFontaine has backstopped Kansas City to a 4-1 record in five ECHL Playoffs games. Added, he owns the best save percentage (0.950) and the fourth-best goals-against average (1.93) among goaltenders in the postseason.
However, the path to get to this point was not always linear. For starters, LaFontaine, originally a third-round pick, 75th overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds prior to the 2023-24 season after spending time in the Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning organizations.
LaFontaine posted a 28-save shutout in his Kansas City debut. However, several call-ups to the AHL and reassignments to the ECHL made it challenging for him to find consistency.
“The beginning of the year was tough,” LaFontaine told The Hockey News. “I was being called up and down from Coachella to Kansas City, so I never really found my groove. I was like called up four times in a row. Once I had my feet planted and in one place for a while, it was nice to get into a little bit of a rhythm.”
He finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 16-3-1 record in 23 appearances, a 2.77 goals-against average, a 0.911 save percentage, and one shutout. LaFontaine has primarily played a rotational role with former Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris as well as Dillon Kelley. The Mavericks became the first team in ECHL history to have three goalies with 15 or more wins each on one team.
