The NHL dream never dies: Lalande

Goaltender turned heads in KHL last season

Kevin Lalande offers few complaints about his career path, saying that life as a goaltender in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League has allowed him to experience a variety of cultures and tastes.

At the same time, the 28-yearold former Calgary Flames draft pick, who grew up in Ottawa, hasn’t yet given up on his boyhood dreams of playing in the NHL and winning the Stanley Cup.

“It’s just about getting a chance,” said Lalande, currently scrimmaging with Ottawa Senators players and other NHL players who call Ottawa their summer home.

“You look at a guy like Andrew Hammond and the story he had last year. It’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time and if I come back to North America (for the 2015-16 season), I want to make sure I have the opportunity to be in a position where a call-up (to the NHL) was a possibility. Right now, that hasn’t fallen into my lap.”

Lalande played with Hawkesbury in the Central Canadian Hockey League and four seasons with the Belleville in the Ontario Hockey League.

After spinning his wheels in Calgary’s farm system for three seasons — he was drafted in Round 5, 128th overall in 2005 — Lalande jumped to the KHL in 2010-11 and has been there ever since.

Last season, he turned plenty of heads while leading legendary CKSA to the KHL title — he owned a record of 16-3-2, with a minuscule 1.39 goals against average and .934 save percentage.

In the process, he landed himself extra work and prime time exposure at the world championships.

Lalande, who owns Belarus citizenship after three seasons in Minsk, was the backbone behind a Belarus team which pulled off a series of upsets before tasting reality in a 9-0 loss to Canada in the quarterfinals.

“I think it maybe opened up some eyes over here, just because … being gone for five years, I think I kind of fell off the map a little bit,” he said. “We, as a team, exceeded expectations at the world championships. If I caught a couple of eyes… but right now, that hasn’t turned into anything concrete.”

Lalande’s hope is for an NHL organization to give him a twoway contract — NHL money if he’s in the big leagues, minorleague cash if in the American Hockey League — and an opportunity to be called up to the NHL in the event of an injury to a team’s top two goaltenders.

In the meantime, the KHL has already started its 2015-16 season.

CKSA still owns Lalande’s KHL rights, but they’ve since signed former Anaheim and Edmonton goaltender Viktor Fasth to take Lalande’s spot.

Accordingly, Lalande is in limbo, holding on to a dream, unsure where he’ll land next. If the NHL doesn’t come calling, he may need CKSA to trade him to a rival in the KHL.

“(Europe) is not a bad alternative,” he said. “As a North American, you dream of playing in the NHL, every kid in his driveway (dreams of ) lifting the Stanley Cup over his head. That’s still something I haven’t let go of, but the reality is, you have to make a living.

“There are bills to pay. If it’s Europe, you’ve got to do what’s best for you. If it’s not the NHL, that’s unfortunate, but there’s a living to be made over there. It’s a great life experience, just to get a chance to see different cultures, speak different languages, eat different foods.”

Lalande knows time is ticking on a decision, but he maintains that he’s “keeping all my options open” before committing.

“I’m not going to force myself into something I don’t want or wouldn’t be happy with.

“I’m going to wait for the right opportunity and hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.”