Inductees

Jason LaBarbera (2014)

Hockey Professional Athlete

As a kid, Jason LaBarbera stopped pucks in the Prince George Minor Hockey Association. His developmental years and his unyielding commitment to the game have resulted in a long and award-winning career as a professional goaltender.

LaBarbera was born in Burnaby but moved with his family to Prince George at an early age. He was a standout player in the local rep system and, as he progressed, drew the attention of Western Hockey League scouts. LaBarbera made his WHL debut with the Tri-City Americans in 1996-97, but, after just two games with Tri-City, was acquired by the Portland Winter Hawks. He spent four seasons with the Hawks and had his best year in 1997-98 when he posted an 18-4 record. That summer, he was drafted by the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers in the third round, 66th overall.

LaBarbera began his pro career in 2000-01 with the East Coast Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, an affiliate club of the Rangers. With the Checkers, he went 18-10-7. That same season, he was called up for four games with the American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolf Pack and also appeared in a single game for the Rangers.

LaBarbera split the next season, 2001-02, between the Checkers and Wolf Pack and established himself as the Wolf Pack’s starter in 2002-03. Then, in 2003-04, he took his game to dizzying heights and was named top goaltender and most valuable player in the AHL. That year, he had a 34-9-9 record, a goals-against average of 1.59, a save percentage of .936 and 13 shutouts. He received the Aldege (Baz) Bastien Memorial Award as top goaltender and the Les Cunningham Award as league MVP. The legendary Johnny Bower also has his name on the Cunningham trophy (1955-56 to 1957-58). The 2003-04 campaign also saw LaBarbera get his first NHL win with the Rangers.

LaBarbera continued his stellar play in 2004-05 and teamed with Wolf Pack goaltending partner Steve Valiquette to win the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Trophy for lowest goals-against average in the league. LaBarbera himself went 31-16-2 and had a miniscule goals-against average of 1.84. After a trade to the Los Angeles Kings organization in the 2005 off-season, LaBarbera won the Bastien and Holmes awards again in 2006-07 as a member of the Manchester Monarchs.

At the NHL level, LaBarbera got his first real opportunity with the Kings in 2005-06 when he played in 29 games and posted an 11-9-2 record with a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .900. He stopped shots for both the Kings and Monarchs for a total of four seasons. His longest stay with the Kings was in 2007-08 when he went 17-23-2 in 45 games.

Since then, LaBarbera has played for the Vancouver Canucks (2008-09), Phoenix Coyotes (2009-10 to 2012-13) and Edmonton Oilers (2013-14). The Oilers traded him to the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and he is now suiting up for Chicago’s AHL team, the Rockford IceHogs. Prior to this season, LaBarbera ranked seventh in AHL history with 28 shutouts.

As a goaltender, LaBarbera has been a wall. Now, the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame is thrilled to open its doors to him in the professional athlete category.