On August 1st, defenseman John LaFontaine joined the New England Black Wolves via a trade with the Saskatchewan Rush. A key piece of that trade that also brought goalie Aaron Bold east, LaFontaine is excited to get the season started.

On his experience with the Rush
“They have a great fan base there, most games were sold out. It’s a great group of guys, a great coaching staff. It was a great experience. I was there (in Saskatchewan) for two years but I was with the Rush for seven years, so I was with them for a while, but I’m excited to move on and be in New England.”

On being a a key piece in the trade
“It’s awesome to hear. It boosts your confidence a lot. Coming into camp, I was a little bit nervous, but hearing that from the top down, it was awesome to hear and it helped me transition over to this group.”

On coming from a team with a lot of championship experience to a team that has just started it’s playoff push with two trips in the last two seasons
“The experience part is definitely something I bring, but even after this first game we had together against the Rock, the potential is there. We had a great three quarters, we just couldn’t finish the game, but that comes with experience and getting to know one another on the floor and off. I think this group, especially the defensive group, is going to have a great shot at winning a championship this year. And speaking on the offense too, we were missing two of the top guys (Shawn Evans and Kevin Crowley) and still put up numbers. We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.”

On what he enjoys off the turf
“I’m a big basketball player. I played basketball at York University before being drafted and starting to play lacrosse professionally. Right now I’m coaching the Durham College women’s basketball team with my mom. Basketball is something that’s in my whole family. My sister coaches at Laurentian University, my other sister coached at Ryerson for a while and is involved in a bunch of basketball stuff, and my brother is helping out with the team I’m coaching as well. Basketball is huge in my family, and it’s definitely something I enjoy doing in my spare time…Neither of my parents played, but my mom got into coaching fairly young. She loved basketball, she was a huge Michael Jordan fan, and she started coaching, was successful, and we started playing as we (his two older sisters and younger brother) grew up and that was that.”