SHEFFIELD, UK – Jason Lafreniere is a name widely regarded in British ice hockey circles. His career at Sheffield may have been short lived, but it has been anything but that for the duration and successfulness of his career.
He was highly revered as one of the best all round players the league has seen during his time at Sheffield, earning him adoration from the Steelers fans and plaudits throughout the league.
Jason officially retired from the sport in 2005, after playing his last games with Polish club Podhale Nowy Targ. He had a distinguished career including 146 games in the NHL spreading his time between the now defunct Quebec Nordiques, Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers .
Jason was born in St. Catharine’s, Ontario but played his junior hockey in North Bay, Ontario. “I got into hockey because my father was a hockey player. He also played pro and I also grew up in Canada in the wintertime there was not much more to do than play hockey on the outdoor rinks.” Jason said.
Jason’s father, Roger, also played 13 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues alongside the likes of Gordie Howe and Garry Unger.
Jason was asked who has been the biggest influence on his career, “Once again it would have to be my father he pretty much taught me everything I needed to know which gave me a great career for over 24 years.”
Jason started his junior career in the Ontario Junior Hockey League at 16 years old with the Orillia Travelways. In his first season he finished second top point scorer on the team and only had nine penalty minutes from 48 games, which is a trait Jason has carried throughout his career.
Lafreniere played three seasons in the highly regarded Ontario Hockey League, which is arguably the best junior league in the World, and produces the majority of the talent we watch in the NHL today. Jason played from 1983-84 to 1985-86 where he began his OHL career with the Brantford Alexanders and the following season moved with the club to Hamilton where they were known as the Steelhawks. In the Hamilton organisation Jason played alongside NHL greats such as the late Bob Probert and Shayne Corson. A fter tallying 95 points in 59 games for the Hamilton Steelhawks in 1984-85, Jason was chosen 36th overall by the Quebec Nordiques at the Entry Draft.
Lafreniere was then traded to the Belleville Bulls after only 14 games, as they were putting together a title contending team. This is where had his most prolific season to date, he acquired 110 points (37+73) and only two penalty minutes in 48 games! Lafreniere led all playoff scorers that season with 32 points ensuring a spot in the league finals. During his 191 regular season games in the OHL Jason registered 308 points, and due to his ability to play the game without being penalised, Lafreniere was awarded the William Hanley Trophy for being the leagues most sportsmanlike player. He was also selected for the OHL First All Star Team in 1986.
Jason spoke about being drafted into the NHL, “Being drafted to the NHL was a definite highlight for me. It let me know that maybe I could play at that level, it was the first step for my professional career” Jason said.
Lafreniere played in 56 games in his first rookie season in the NHL, as well as 12 Playoff games as the Nordiques reached the second round of the playoffs. In his first season Lafreniere posted a respectable 28 points (13+15) as well as a further 6 points in the playoffs.
Lafreniere in Sheffield colours (Photo Jay Smith)
Lafreniere shared a dressing room as a rookie with NHL greats such as Michel Goulet, Peter and Anton Stastny. Jason commented about this experience, “I played with a lot of great players and both Peter and Michel are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. They made me a better player when you watch these guys play you learn from them they do things that you have never done before so you pick up on it and try the plays yourself, when you watch players that are better than you it allows you to learn more and better your game.”
Lafreniere split the 1987-88 season b etween Quebec and the AHL’s Fredericton Express, during his time here, he was traded to New York Rangers along with Normand Rochefort in a deal that included the highly experienced duo of Walt Poddubny and Bruce Bell.
Lafreniere was only 22 years old at the time and was now playing with the likes of Brain Leetch, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne. However, his time with the Rangers was short lived, he only played 38 games that season but managed a respectable 24 points. He was considered a defensive liability and demoted to the Denver Rangers of the International Hockey League. It was here where Lafreniere played alongside future teammate Ron Shudra.
Lafreniere was asked about the psychological side of his game and if he had any superstitions to which he answered, “ No I never got caught up in any of that stuff.”
Lafreniere had a similar response when asked whether he was a prankster in the locker room, “I was never a practical joke kind of guy so I never got involved in any of that stuff” Jason said.
Lafreniere then spent the 1989-90 season in the IHL with the Flint Spirits and the Phoenix Roadrunners, before spending the 1990-91 season with the Canadian National Team where he played alongside another future teammate, the ‘Messiah’ Ken Priestlay. Lafreniere averaged a point per game over 59 matches.
The following season Lafreniere he played for the EV Landshut club in Germany before signing as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lafreniere featured in 11 games with the Lightning acquiring 6 points, whilst the majority of his season was spent with the Atlanta Knights in the IHL where he tallied 70 points in 63 appearances.
Lafreniere spent the 1993-94 season with Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL, playing under the tutelage of former Atlanta Thrashers Head Coach Curt Fraser. Jason had another successful season tallying 61 points in 52 games, earning him a game with the Tampa Bay Lightning once again. The 1994-95 season signalled the re-start of Lafreniere’s European CV. Courmaosta HC in Italy was the first port of call. Lafreniere finished the team’s top playmaker with 47 assists in 41 games as well as top point scorer (72 points).
The following season Lafreniere moved to neighbouring Austria where he suited up for Villach VSV for the 1995-96 campaign. This was the first season where Lafreniere tallied more goals than assists, with 40 goals and 36 assists in 44 games.
Lafreniere in action for Courmaosta
“At that time it was pretty good hockey there were quite a few guys in the league that had NHL experience. I am not sure what is going on now but I believe that might have been the best hockey ever played in England” Jason said.
There were some characters on the Steelers team that year with the likes of Tommy Plommer, Nicky Chinn, and Corey Beaulieu. Jason spoke about these characters, and any interesting stories from his time in Sheffield, “ There where a lot of characters for sure I think I was in a few of those interesting stories myself. That bar brawl we got into in Sheffield was quite a circus but nothing really jumps to my mind” Jason said.
Jason helped the team capture the Play-off championship and the runners up spot in the league. Jason talked about capturing the playoff and his favourite memories as a Steeler, “ My favourite memories of Sheffield are the great fan support that we got from the people, the crowd at the games was the best I have ever seen in Europe at the time. It was always fun to go to the rink. I also will never forget my final game played in Manchester it was great and to win it was even better, lots of fun” Jason said. “I would have loved to been there for a much longer time, that is just how things played out ”
The next season Lafreniere joined the Hannover Scorpions in Germany, where he stayed for two seasons and recorded 98 points in 96 games for the club. In the 1999-2000 season Lafreniere split his time between four clubs, and acquiring a fair amount of air miles. Jason played for the Hamburg Crocodiles in the German Bundesliga, Topeka Scarecrows of the Central Hockey League, Bakersfield Condors of the demised West Coast Hockey League, and he even played one game for CH Hielo Barcelona of the Spanish Superliga recoding a hat trick. The 2000-01 season saw Lafreniere move back to Italy, where he had played six years previously. This time Lafreniere suited up twenty-four times for Merano registering 23 points (5+18) along the way.
Lafreniere then returned to the UK a season later to play for the Edinburgh Capitals in the British National League. It was in Edinburgh where Lafreniere renewed his old friendship with Ron Shudra, albeit a short one as Shudra only played 7 games for the Capitals that season. Lafreniere led the team in goals assists and points that year with 38+50 in only 44 games.
The 2002-03 season saw Lafreniere make the switch to fellow BNL rivals the Guildford Flames. The addition of Lafreniere still wasn’t enough for them as they finished third in the league and lost to the Coventry Blaze in the playoff semi finals. Lafreniere once again finished top points scorer with 56 points (19+37) from 36 games.
The following season Lafreniere went to play for the Tilburg Trappers in Holland where he acquired 35 points in 21 games. Lafreniere then finished his playing career a year later after playing two games with Polish club Podhale Nowy Targ.
Lafreniere was asked if he is still involved in the game at all, “No, but I would like to get back into hockey on any level. I have sent out some resumes but nothing so far, this working for a living sucks!” Jason chuckled.
Lafreniere now resides in Vancouver, British Columbia where he works as a Real Estate Appraiser. Lafreniere concluded by saying,
“We won a lot of games in Sheffield with a great bunch of guys, and we never lost a party!”
Pro Hockey News would like to sincerely thank Jason for his time.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
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