Michael Fountain (born January 26, 1972) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

, and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. He also played several seasons in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL), as well as in the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

. Since retiring as a player, he became an Assistant Coach for the Team Canada Para Hockey Team.

Playing career

Fountain grew up in the small town of

Gravenhurst, Ontario Gravenhurst is a town in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The Town of Gravenhurst includes a large area of the District of Muskoka, known to Ontar ...

. As a 15-year-old, Fountain played Jr.C. hockey for the Hunstville Blair McCanns in 1988-89. He was named rookie of the year and made the All Star Team. Fountain was drafted in the 15th round of the 1989 OHL Draft by the S.S. Marie Greyhounds. After being drafted by the Greyhounds, he was assigned to the Chatham Micmacs Jr.B. hockey club in 1989-90 where he was teammates with future NHL players Todd Warriner and Brian Wiseman. The Micmacs won the Western JR B Championship Fountain played two seasons of junior hockey in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

with the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

and was named to the OHL First All-Star team in 1992. He was also one of the netminders for Canada at that year's World Junior Championships. Following his junior success, Fountain was selected 45th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the

. Fountain turned pro for the 1992–93 season, and was assigned to the

Hamilton Canucks The Hamilton Canucks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They played in Hamilton, Ontario, at Copps Coliseum. They were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The te ...

of the

. He played for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

from 94-97 with a GA of 3.2. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1754 He established himself as one of the top goalies outside of the NHL with a standout 1993–94 campaign, during which he led the AHL with 70 appearances, 34 wins, and 4 shutouts, and was named to the league's Second All-Star Team. However, cracking the NHL would be difficult for Fountain. Just as it appeared he was ready to succeed Kay Whitmore as the backup to Kirk McLean with the Canucks, the team acquired highly rated Corey Hirsch, who passed Fountain on the depth chart and was promoted directly to the NHL. Fountain proceeded to toil for two more seasons in the AHL without getting an NHL opportunity. He was finally able to make his NHL debut midway through the 1996–97 season, and did so in memorable style. He became the 19th goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his first NHL game, doing so against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

, and nearly scored a goal as well, sending the puck just a few feet wide of the empty net late in the game. He finished the year with a 2–2–0 record and a 3.43 GAA in 6 appearances. Fountain left Vancouver to sign as a free agent with the

for the 1997–98. He signed with the

in 1999 and spent two seasons with the organization as their third goaltender, appearing in one NHL game in both years while performing well in the IHL and setting standards no Griffins goalie has attained since. He was named an IHL All Star in 2000/2001 season. In 2001, Fountain left North America to sign in the Russian Super League with HC Lada Togliatti and led the RHL in GAA in his first season. He also set the all time Russian shutout record with 14 shutouts in 43 starts. After two years in Russia, he signed in Germany for 2003–04 with the Iserlohn Roosters. He returned to Russia in 2005, playing for

Traktor Chelyabinsk Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor, or HC Traktor Chelyabinsk, () is a professional ice hockey club based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). From 1967 to 2009, the te ...

, where he won the Russian Championship and was named MVP before re-joining Lada Togliatti in 2006. In all, Fountain appeared in 11 NHL games, posting a 2–6–0 record with a 3.47 GAA.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fountain, Mike 1972 births Beast of New Haven players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Carolina Hurricanes players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Grand Rapids Griffins players Hamilton Canucks players HC Lada Togliatti players Iserlohn Roosters players Living people Motor City Mechanics players Oshawa Generals players Ottawa Senators players People from Gravenhurst, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Ice hockey people from North York Syracuse Crunch players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players