Zach Fucale

July 2023 – Fucale ended his current AHL career with a championship with the Bears, but sadly lost the starting role to Hunter Shepard before the playoffs started. After seeming to have finally found his unlocked potential from 2019-2021, Fucale struggled after in the AHL with seasons of 0.896 and 0.902 save percentages. The Capitals also made it impossible for Fucale to get an NHL shot with long term NHL signings. Fucale signed a two-year deal with Traktor in the KHL as he looks to be the starter overseas to continue his career. If he can be a top goalie in the KHL there may be a chance where he could still get an NHL role down the line. Pat Quinn

January 2023 – The shine off of Fucale’s early play with the Capitals in the AHL and ECHL, along with his stint playing four NHL games in 2021-22 where he got a shut out, seems to be dimming slightly. His play this year is not that but, but it is also not as noteworthy as the previous seasons. Fucale is a UFA in the off-season and may look elsewhere for a chance to play more in the NHL. It does seem likely that the Capitals will try and keep him as the #3 goalie in the system too. Pat Quinn

September 2022 – Fucale played in four NHL games last season with two in relief and one a shut out. His overall save percentage for the year in the AHL does not look good with it being 0.896 overall but that does not tell the full story. With his up and down recalls in November to the end of January in the AHL his save percentage only saw over 0.900 once in eight games. He came down to earth more last season, which was to be expected, but he seemed inconsistent a lot. Fucale had three game with three straight shut outs from February 25 to March 13 but before that he had four straight games of 0.615, 0.900, 0.808, and 0.857.  The Capitals placed $6.35M of obstacles in front of him for the next three years, so expect Fucale to be the first call up and move on to a new team where he could have a shot at a 1B/back up role. Pat Quinn

January 2022 – Fucale has played in just 10 AHL games, but has also seen time called up to the NHL squad cutting in to his AHL starting time. Five of his AHL games have seen his save percentage over .900, so he has not had the luster he had last year but he is not playing terribly. His first start in November against Detroit resulted in a shut out, but his second start against Boston resulted in him being pulled, so there is still work to do for him to become more consistent. Between those two games he was brought in for relief and only let in one goal on 28 shots through around five periods of hockey. There may be something there as a future 1A/1B, or potentially above average, starter but it will take some time. Pat Quinn

October 2021 – Fucale is set up to hopefully get more starts in 2021-2022 as he only had 12 total games in 2020-2021, but played lights out all year. He will likely be the 1A in Hershey as the Capitals will want to see if he can develop in to an NHL starter, especially if Samsonov or Vanecek do not work out. Pat Quinn

May 2021 – Fucale has seemingly put himself back on the map among prospect goaltenders with his 2020-2021 season, even though he is 25 years old. Fucale only played in 11 AHL games thanks to being called up by the Capitals and an early season injury. However, in the AHL he was spectacular as he sported a 0.932 save percentage for the season. The Bears were the top AHL team and Fucale did help them achieve that. He also finished second in the AHL in sv% and first in goals against average. Of course, 11 games is a small sample size, but if Fucale has figured out his early potential the Capitals may have another goalie to add to the teams goalie factory. Pat Quinn

March 2021 – Fucale was re-signed by the Capitals to a two-year two-way contract after a strong six games in the AHL, with a great ECHL game previously as well.  Pat Quinn

August 2020 – Fucale was signed by the Capitals to a one-year two-way deal worth $700k. Pat Quinn

June 2019 – Fucale did not get a qualifying offer from the Golden Knights which means he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Pat Quinn

July 2018 –  The Vegas Golden Knights have signed Fucale to a one-year two-way deal. Pat Quinn

June 2018 –  The Montreal Canadiens did not tender a qualifying offer to Fucale, making him an unrestricted free agent. Fucale is still just 23 years old and goalies take a long time to develop, so some NHL team will likely sign him and see if they can find that magic that made him a highly-regarded goalie prospect in junior hockey.  Pat Quinn

March 2018 – Splitting the season between the AHL and ECHL, Fucale has been recalled by the Canadiens on an emergency basis after Antti Niemi needed a therapy day and will be held out of action against the New Jersey Devils (March 6). Once the first goalie taken in his draft year Fucale has fallen off the map aside from a surprising Spengler Cup performance a year ago. Even though he has yet to play an NHL game and struggles at both minor league levels there is still some degree of hope left due to the dominant junior career he had in the QMJHL and the International level. Fucale will back-up the goalie that first leap-frogged him in the goaltending pecking order in Montreal as Charlie Lindgren will get another start for the all-of-a-sudden very young Habs. It will be interesting to see if Fucale gets his first taste of NHL ice at some point depending on how long Niemi and Price’s absences extend. Mike Barrett

January 2017 – On the surface everyone sees the poor numbers beside his name, but his play is not as bad as it shows on paper. The second half of last season in the AHL he made great strides in becoming a reliable option and was fundamentally stronger. He did start this campaign rough and was demoted to the ECHL, but that demotion I feel was more about getting him more regular playing time while allowing Charlie Lindgren the chance to run in the AHL. Fucale is still young at 21-years-old and showed his talent in leading Team Canada to a convincing Spengler Cup victory with very few questionable goals against vs some of the better pro teams around Europe that are well-above his ECHL competition and seeing around 30 shots per game which is considered high in those realms. Looked well positioned and was strong at fighting through traffic. His star is not shining as bright, but he still has the talent to break into the highest level. Jason Banks

March 2015 – After back-to-back seasons of save percentages above .900, Fucale has had a year to forget. Additionally, he has only posted 20 wins this year after three straight 30-plus-win campaigns. The good news is that the Canadiens are sound in goal so there will not be unnecessary pressure on Fucale to be an overnight sensation when he turns pro. Eric Daoust

June 2014 – Fucale won the Jacques Plante trophy for sporting the best GAA in the QMJHL as well as the Paul Dumont trophy as the league’s top personality for the 2013-14 campaign. Eric Daoust

January 2014 – Fucale’s experience at the World Junior Championships was a mixed bag. He made some incredible saves at key moments but was also beat on shots that he should have saved. With Canada struggling to score goals it needed more from Fucale. The end result was a fourth-place finish. Eric Daoust

December 2013 – Zach Fucale has been named to Team Canada’s final roster for the 2014 World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden and will battle with Red Wings prospect goaltender Jake Paterson for the starting position. Leading up to the tournament, Fucale appeared in the pre-tournament debut game versus the Finns and while he eventually found his comfort zone, he was exposed cheating occasionally. Canada will need both goaltenders to play strong in order to challenge for a gold medal against the Swedes, Americans and Russians. Brendan Ross

September 2013 – Fucale signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Canadiens. Dobber

July 2013 – Fucale was drafted by the Canadiens in the second round (36th overall). From a fantasy perspective, the fact that Carey Price sits at the top of his organization’s depth chart means that Fucale will not be rushed to the NHL. He will not be a factor in the NHL for a few years. Eric Daoust

May 2013 – Halifax Mooseheads’ netminder Zach Fucale is the newest goaltender to backstop his team to the CHL Memorial Cup Championship after knocking off the talented Portland Winterhawks in the final game. Fucale was named to the tournament All-Star team after finishing the tournament with a leading .902 save percentage in four games. Fucale remains the top ranked goaltender available in the 2013 NHL Draft and should be drafted accordingly in keeper leagues. Brendan Ross

March 2013 – Fucale has been honoured as the QMJHL’s Second Star of the Week (ending March 9th) after leading his Halifax Mooseheads to a 2-0-1 record on the week where he posted a 1.82 GAA and .942 save percentage. Brendan Ross

December, 2012 – Fucale is following up his remarkable rookie campaign with another stellar season. He’s a huge reason why the powerful Halifax Mooseheads sit atop the CHL rankings. He is a very calm and controlled goalie who makes a lot of saves look easy. He is again among the top goaltenders in the QMJHL and is considered a favourite as the top ranked goalie heading into the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Derek LeBlanc