Kingston Frontenacs overage goaltender Nolan Lalonde has had a busy spring and summer. He won a national championship, and he celebrated a homecoming of sorts.
Last spring the former Saginaw Spirit goaltender’s name was added to an impressive list of local hockey players who have won the Memorial Cup, junior hockey’s most cherished trophy. Lalonde, an overage goaltender this season, was traded to the Frontenacs on June 21 for a couple of draft picks.
He joins other Memorial Cup champions from Kingston, including Gabe Vilardi and Aaron Luchuk of the Windsor Spitfires in 2017; Calgary born and Kingston-bred Taylor Hall also for the Spitfires in 2009; Scott Arniel, in 1980 and again in 1981 with Doug Gilmour for the Cornwall Royals; as well as Gary MacGregor, Bob Murray, and Gary Running, also for the 1972 Royals.
Kingston’s Don Cherry won the Cup in 1953 with the Barrie Flyers and goaltender Lorne Howes won it for the Flyers in 1951.
“It’s exciting and to play in my hometown and to give back to the city that gave me so much just growing up playing here and I’m super-proud to be from here,” Lalonde says. “It’s special putting that (Frontenacs) jersey on every time I get to do it.”
The Spirit won the 2024 Memorial Cup in dramatic fashion, defeating the London Knights 4–3 in the championship game on June 2, with the clinching goal scored with just 22 seconds remaining in the game.
In the deciding match, the Spirit went out to a 3–0 lead just past the halfway mark of the second period only to see the Knights storm back with a late second-period goal and a pair in the third period to tie the game. For the last 10 minutes of the third period the Spirit were able to hold off relentless pressure from the high-flying Knights, winning the game when the Spirit’s Josh Bloom scored in the dying seconds, creating a celebration Lalonde won’t soon forget.
“It was the coolest experience I think I’ve had playing hockey in a long time. We score with 22 seconds left to win the Memorial Cup – it doesn’t get better than that.”
The Spirit were the host team for the Memorial Cup last spring. Also appearing in the tournament were the Western Hockey League champions Moose Jaw Warriors and Quebec-Maritime Junior Hockey League champion Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Andrew Oke, the starting Spirit goalie and a good friend of Lalonde’s, played in the first six games of Saginaw’s playoff run before being injured: a four-game sweep over the Owen Sound Attack and the first two games of the Western Conference semi-final series against the Soo Greyhounds.
In relief, Lalonde played in a dozen games for the Spirit, compiling a five win-seven loss record, a goal against average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .893. The Spirit defeated Sault Ste. Marie in seven games but was eliminated from the playoffs by the Knights in six games in the OHL’s Western Conference final.
In his first game against the Greyhounds, Lalonde was selected the first star in a 7–2 win and received a second star and a pair of third-star selections over the remainder of the playoffs.
Oke was put back in the nets by Spirit coach Chris Lazary for game one of the Memorial Cup after recovering from his injury. He played all five games, sending Lalonde to the end of the Saginaw bench to watch from the sidelines.
Lalonde took the goalie change with a positive attitude.
“I’m competitive, I’d want to play every game,” he says. “I was just trying to be the best teammate I could in that scenario. I was trying to support Oke because at the end of the day. he’s one of my best friends on that team,” Lalonde says. “I was just trying to be the biggest cheerleader I could on the bench.”
Lalonde recently signed a free-agent contract with the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets and recently attended the team’s training camp and got to play in a rookie tournament game.
“They were pretty happy, all the feedback I got was positive and they told me to come back here and have a good year,” Lalonde says.
Back in March, Lalonde appeared via video at the Kingston Canadians minor hockey banquet to present the Steve Carter Memorial Award for community service. He recalled how much he loved playing one season for the Kingston Canadians major pee wee AA team (now U13) for coach Carter.
In the video, he described how he wasn’t having much fun and developing the way he liked playing in Kingston’s AAA hockey organization the year before, so he dropped down to play AA for the 2015–16 season.
“Without that one season and playing for him and with that group of guys, I wouldn’t be where I am playing hockey today,” he said of Carter, a Kingston Police sergeant who unexpectedly passed away in May of 2021 at the age of 46.
Lalonde moved back up to AAA for his minor bantam (13-year-old) year and was eventually drafted in the third round, 49th overall by the Erie Otters in 2020.
“The impact [Carter] had on me kind of allowed me to finally find the reason I actually played because I loved the game.”
Lalonde is looking forward to his last season of junior hockey.
“It’s really fun so far and exciting – we have a really good team and it’s been really cool to be back home.”
