Centre Nathan Lafayette was a role player on four different clubs in the 1990s. A prolific scorer in junior with some international experience, his career never took off the way many scouts anticipated.
Born in New Westminster, B.C., Lafayette scored 112 goals in four years of junior in the OHL. He was chosen 65th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1991 Entry Draft and was named the Canadian Major Junior Scholastic player of the year in 1992. The young forward's finest year as an amateur came in 1992-93 when he scored 49 goals for the Newmarket Royals and helped Canada win the gold medal at the World Junior Championships.
In 1993-94, Lafayette played 38 games for the Blues and skated briefly with the IHL's Peoria Rivermen. Prior to the March deadline, he was included as part of the package sent to the Vancouver Canucks for Craig Janney. The young forward fit in well with his new club and registered nine points while helping Vancouver reach the Stanley Cup finals.
After playing 27 games for the Canucks in 1995, Lafayette was sent to the New York Rangers who had been impressed with his work the previous spring. He played only a few games for the Blueshirts who struggled to regain their form of the previous year. In March 1996, he was included in a major deal with the L.A. Kings that was centred around Ray Ferraro and Jari Kurri. Lafayette was a decent role player on the west coast for parts of four seasons and also saw time in the AHL and IHL. He retired in 1999 after splitting the season between the Kings and the Long Beach Ice Dogs.
