Zachary Fucale (born May 28, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected in the second round, 36th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He has previously played for the Washington Capitals.
| Zachary Fucale | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Fucale with the Hershey Bears in 2023 | |||
| Born |
May 28, 1995 Laval, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| KHL team Former teams |
Traktor Chelyabinsk Washington Capitals | ||
| NHL draft |
36th overall, 2013 Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Playing career
editJunior
editFucale was born in Laval, Quebec, but grew up in Rosemère, Quebec.[1]
Before being drafted into major junior hockey, Fucale played for the Saint-Eustache Vikings of the Quebec AAA Midget Hockey League. The Halifax Mooseheads selected Fucale eleventh overall in the 2011 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Entry Draft.[2]
In his first season with the Mooseheads, Fucale set a QMJHL record for most wins by a rookie with 32.[3] For his performance, he was named to the QMJHL all-rookie team[4] and awarded the Raymond Lagacé Trophy as defensive rookie of the year.
In 2012, Fucale was named to the Subway Super Series as a QMJHL representative. On November 8, 2012, Fucale made the start for team QMJHL in the series and stopped all 10 shots he faced before being replaced halfway through the game.[5] In November 2012, Fucale was named the #1 North American Goaltender in the NHL Central Scouting rankings for the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft.
The 2012–2013 campaign saw Fucale become the Mooseheads' all-time leader in wins with 79, surpassing the mark previously held by Jean-Sébastien Giguère.[6] During the 2012–13 playoffs, he maintained a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.02 and a save percentage of 0.918, recording 16 wins with the Mooseheads against only one loss as they captured their first President's Cup (QMJHL).
In the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament held at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Fucale maintained a 0.902 save percentage while maintaining a 3.52 GAA to help the Halifax Mooseheads capture their first-ever Memorial Cup. Playing with a talented Mooseheads club that included future NHL rookie of the year Nathan MacKinnon and Canadian Hockey League player of the year Jonathan Drouin, Fucale turned aside 40 shots to beat the Portland Winterhawks 6–4 in the championship game. He was named to the tournament all-star team.[7]
On January 21, 2014, Fucale became the youngest goalie to reach 100 wins in QMJHL history, at 18 years, 7.8 months. At the same time he set a new record for achieving that mark in the fewest games, winning his hundredth game in 145 starts. The record was previously held by Jacques Cloutier of the Trois-Rivières Draveurs who was 19 when he reached 100 wins in 150 games in 1979.[8]
On November 28, 2014, Fucale recorded his 124th regular season win, passing Olivier Roy for second place among QMJHL goaltenders for most career wins and putting him within 18 wins of Cloutier's all-time record.[9]
Fucale was traded to the Quebec Remparts on December 19, 2014.[10] On his departure from Halifax, he was the club's all-time leader in regular season wins (126), playoff wins (35), and shutouts (15).[11] In an unusual step for an active player, Fucale returned to his former club 22 days after he was traded to be honoured with an emotional eight-minute pre-game tribute.[12][13]
In May 2015, Fucale led the Quebec Remparts to the President Cup finals after defeating the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Charlottetown Islanders, and Moncton Wildcats. The team lost to the Rimouski Océanic in double overtime of the seventh and final game of the series.[14] Fucale was still able to make a return to the national MasterCard Memorial Cup championship, by virtue of Quebec's status as host; however, the team was eliminated by the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets, 9–3, in the semi-final.[15]
Professional
editDuring the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Fucale was the top goalie taken, selected 36th overall by the Montreal Canadiens.[16] Following training camp in 2014, the Canadiens returned Fucale to the Halifax Mooseheads for his final junior year. In 2015, Fucale played his first pre-season game in a Habs uniform, giving up two goals, including the overtime winner, in a 2–1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 22.[17]
On September 26, 2015, the Canadiens announced that Fucale was being reassigned for the 2015–16 season to the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League, where he shared netminder duties with Dustin Tokarski.[18] On November 30, the team recalled Fucale from the AHL to become Mike Condon's back-up goalie during Carey Price's recovery from an injury.[19]
During the 2016–17 season, Fucale played for the Brampton Beast (ECHL). Entering the playoffs, he had already established a number of franchise records including games played, wins (25) and goals against average. He also took time out in December to lead Canada to a Spengler Cup Champion as the team's only ECHL representative and the youngest player on the roster.
On July 1, 2018, after he was not tendered a qualifying offer to remain with the Canadiens, Fucale signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.[20] After attending the Golden Knights and Wolves training camp, Fucale was assigned for the majority of the 2018–19 season to ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets. Collecting 20 wins in 34 regular season games, Fucale also made 5 appearances with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. On June 25, 2019, Fucale was not tendered a qualifying offer with the Golden Knights, releasing him to free agency.[21]
On July 2, 2019, Fucale agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the Syracuse Crunch, affiliate to the Tampa Bay Lightning.[22] Signed to add depth to the Crunch, Fucale played primarily with ECHL affiliate club the Orlando Solar Bears. After 24 games with the Solar Bears and a single appearance with the Crunch, Fucale was released from his contract midway into the 2019–20 season, in order to sign a contract with his first European club, EHC Red Bull München of the DEL on February 18, 2020.[23] Due to injury, Fucale failed to feature in the DEL before the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 19, 2020, the Washington Capitals signed Fucale as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000.[24]
Fucale made his NHL debut on November 11, 2021, registering a 21-save shutout. In doing so he became the first goalie in Washington Capitals history to register a shutout in his NHL debut, and the first NHL goalie to do so since Garret Sparks. In his second NHL game, on January 8, 2022, he did not surrender a goal until late in the third period, setting a new NHL record for the longest shutout streak to begin a career.[25]
On June 21, 2023, Fucale won the Calder Cup with the Capitals' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 7 games.[26] The final game ended in overtime 3–2 with the game-winning goal scored by Mike Vecchione. This was the Bears' first Calder Cup since the 2009–10 season.
As a free agent from the Capitals in the off-season, Fucale opted to halt his career in North America and signed a two-year contract with Russian club, Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, on July 6, 2023.[27]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament | ||
 |
2012 Piešťany | |
| IIHF World U20 Championship | ||
| |
2015 Canada | |
| Spengler Cup | ||
| |
2016 Davos | |
| |
2019 Davos | |
Fucale won gold at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka U18 Memorial Tournament as a member of Team Canada. Fucale played in four of the five tournament games, shutting out Finland 4–0 in the gold medal game.[28]
Fucale was named to Canada's roster for the 2014 and 2015 World Junior Championship.[29] After Canada finished a disappointing fourth at the 2014 event in Sweden, Fucale led Team Canada to a gold medal, their first in five years, at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. In so doing, Fucale improved his save percentage to .949 over five games in 2015, up from .902 in the previous tournament; his goals-against average improved to 1.20 from 2.42.[30] With eight wins, Fucale ties Stéphane Fiset (1989/1990) and Marc-André Fleury (2003/2004) for most wins by a Canadian goaltender at the IIHF U20 tournament.[31]
Fucale has represented Canada three times at the annual invitational Spengler Cup tournament, leading Team Canada to gold medals in 2016 and 2019 and to a silver medal in 2018. In the 2019 tournament, Fucale was named to the tournament all star team after allowing only one goal in three starts, recording two shutouts and a 0.33 goals-against average.[32]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2010–11 | Saint-Eustache Vikings | QMAAA | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.09 | .901 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 3.61 | .901 | ||
| 2011–12 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 58 | 32 | 18 | 6 | 3249 | 171 | 2 | 3.16 | .892 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 1022 | 49 | 0 | 2.88 | .904 | ||
| 2012–13 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 55 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 3162 | 124 | 2 | 2.35 | .909 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 1042 | 35 | 3 | 2.02 | .918 | ||
| 2013–14 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 50 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 2917 | 110 | 6 | 2.26 | .907 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 797 | 37 | 0 | 2.79 | .882 | ||
| 2014–15 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1426 | 76 | 2 | 3.20 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 17 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 933 | 50 | 1 | 3.22 | .877 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 1194 | 51 | 1 | 2.56 | .913 | ||
| 2015–16 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 42 | 16 | 19 | 4 | 2376 | 124 | 1 | 3.13 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 178 | 7 | 1 | 2.36 | .919 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Brampton Beast | ECHL | 46 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 2359 | 134 | 4 | 3.17 | .898 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 704 | 25 | 0 | 2.13 | .932 | ||
| 2017–18 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 18 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 993 | 54 | 0 | 3.26 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Brampton Beast | ECHL | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 657 | 31 | 0 | 2.83 | .913 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL | 34 | 20 | 9 | 1 | 1983 | 105 | 0 | 3.18 | .894 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 371 | 20 | 0 | 3.23 | .910 | ||
| 2018–19 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 262 | 11 | 0 | 2.51 | .909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL | 24 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1322 | 52 | 4 | 2.36 | .928 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 3 | 0 | 3.20 | .800 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | South Carolina Stingrays | ECHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | .972 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 666 | 20 | 1 | 1.80 | .932 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 1852 | 81 | 3 | 2.62 | .896 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 172 | 5 | 1 | 1.75 | .924 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 38 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 2197 | 93 | 2 | 2.54 | .902 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | ||
| 2023–24 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | KHL | 46 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 2643 | 95 | 6 | 2.16 | .929 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 645 | 27 | 0 | 2.51 | .933 | ||
| NHL totals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 172 | 5 | 1 | 1.75 | .924 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 46 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 2,643 | 95 | 6 | 2.16 | .929 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 645 | 27 | 0 | 2.51 | .933 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Canada Quebec | U17 | 6th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 185 | 10 | 0 | 3.25 | .906 | |
| 2012 | Canada | IH18 | 
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | 2.00 | .927 | |
| 2014 | Canada | WJC | 4th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 298 | 12 | 0 | 2.42 | .902 | |
| 2015 | Canada | WJC |
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 6 | 2 | 1.20 | .939 | |
| 2016 | Canada | SC |
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | 2.00 | .934 | |
| 2018 | Canada | SC | 
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 7 | 0 | 1.71 | .920 | |
| 2019 | Canada | SC |
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | 0.33 | .979 | |
| International totals | 31 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 1 | — | 59 | 5 | 1.84 | .932 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| QMJHL | ||
| Raymond Lagacé Trophy – QMJHL Defensive Rookie of the Year | 2011–12 | |
| QMJHL First Team All-Star | 2012–13 | [34] |
| QMJHL President's Cup Championship | 2013 | |
| Paul Dumont Trophy – Personality of the Year | 2013–14 | [35] |
| Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy – Best GAA | 2013–14 | [36] |
| CHL | ||
| Memorial Cup Championship | 2013 | |
| Memorial Cup All-Star Team | 2013 | [37] |
| AHL | ||
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award | 2020–21 | [38] |
| Calder Cup | 2023 | [39] |
| International | ||
| 2012 Ivan Hlinka U18 Memorial Tournament – Gold Medal | 2012 | |
| IIHF World U20 Championships – Gold Medal | 2015 | |
| Spengler Cup – All-Star Team | 2019 | |
References
edit- ^ "Fucale, Zachary". nhl.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "QMJHL". theqmjhl.ca. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "QMJHL: Mooseheads' iron man Fucale sets record for wins by a rookie goalie". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Mooseheads hardware hopefuls fall short at QMJHL awards". metronews.ca. April 4, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Huberdeau leads QMJHL to win over Russians in Super Series". cbc.ca. November 7, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "CHL Network". February 20, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Halifax Mooseheads win MasterCard Memorial Cup". Canadian Hockey League. May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
- ^ "Zach Fucale breaks goalie record as Mooseheads top Sea Dogs". CBC News. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ "Timo Time: Moose smoke Shawinigan". Halifax Mooseheads. November 28, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ^ The Canadian Press. December 19, 2014. Rebuilding Halifax Mooseheads trade goalie Zach Fucale to Quebec Remparts. Retrieved from: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=744854
- ^ QMJHL. Goalie statistics: http://theqmjhl.ca/stats/show/type/goalies/ls_season/178/ls_team/5 Archived January 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Chronicle Herald. January 10, 2015. Pumped up Mooseheads win on night Fucale honoured. Retrieved from: http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/mooseheads/1262192-pumped-up-mooseheads-win-on-night-fucale-honoured
- ^ Halifax Mooseheads. Zach Fucale tribute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW1XC3EzQOQ
- ^ "So close..." remparts.ca. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Rockets blast into finals with 9–3 win". mastercardmemorialcup.ca. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "2013 Draft Centre". TSN. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens – 09/22/2015". nhl.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Goalie Fucale among 17 players Canadiens send down to AHL's IceCaps". Hockey Inside/Out. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ MacMillan, Ken (November 30, 2015). "Zach Fucale Called Up By Montreal Canadiens". A Winning Habit. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^ "Golden Knights' Zach Fucale: Gets deal with Vegas". CBS Sports. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ "Zach Fucale: Bound for open market". CBS Sports. June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- ^ "Crunch sign Goaltender Zachary Fucale to AHL contract". Syracuse Crunch. July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Red Bull sign Goaltender Zach Fucale" (in German). EHC Red Bull München. February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Capitals Sign Zach Fucale". Washington Capitals. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ Pierce, Jessi (January 9, 2022). "Capitals goalie Fucale sets NHL record in shootout loss to Wild". NHL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ Robinson, Ian. "A Former Moosehead Wins The AHL Calder Cup!". Hot Country 103.5. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- ^ "Zach Fucale signs with Traktor". Traktor Chelyabinsk. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ "Canada wins 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial". European Ice Hockey Online. August 18, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "National Junior Team". TSN.ca. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ International Ice Hockey Federation. World Junior Championship: Player statistics by team. Retrieved from: http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/359/IHM359500_83_63_0_CAN.pdf and http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/417/IHM417000_83_65_0_CAN.pdf
- ^ Hockey Canada National Junior Team statistics at: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/Team-Canada/Men/Junior/
- ^ "Canada captures 16th Spengler Cup title". tsn.ca. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ "QMJHL Statistics". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
- ^ "Jonathan Drouin wins big at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League awards". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Valdors' Anthony Mantha named QMJHL MVP". Lethbridge Herald. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ^ "The Golden Puck Awards: an unforgettable evening". oursportscentral.com. April 2, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Memorial Cup". mastercardmemorialcup.ca. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ "Hershey's Copley, Fucale Win AHL's Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award". OurSports Central. May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Sweeter by the dozen: Hershey wins 12th Calder Cup". American Hockey League. June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database