Lausanne HC has been busy in recent weeks building a strong roster for the 2024-25 National League season and on Tuesday the Swiss club did some shuffling in goal. First of all, incumbent starter Connor Hughes signed with the Montreal Canadiens. Almost concurrently, Lausanne announced the signings of a couple of younger netminders: Antoine Keller and Thibault Patton.

“LHC gave me a chance and I am very proud to have been part of this historic season for the club,” said 27-year-old Hughes. “Everyone welcomed me with open arms, the players, the staff, the fans and, partly thanks to that, I had a superb year in Lausanne. Having such an opportunity in the NHL in an organization as important as the Montreal Canadiens is simply a dream for me. I will keep very good memories of my time here and I wish you all the best for the next season. Thank you Lausanne.”

Hughes is a native of London, Ontario but has played in Switzerland for the past seven years, during which time he has become a naturalized citizen. For five seasons, he mostly played in the second-tier Swiss League or as a backup in the National League. Hughes then had a breakout season in 2022-23 as a starter for Fribourg-Gottéron. Last season, his only in Lausanne, he missed more than two months with an injury but led the league in goals-against average and save percentage and then backstopped Lausanne all the way to game seven of the National League finals against the Zurich Lions, where they lost 2-0.

If Hughes is assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, which seems likely, it will be his first season in Canada since he played junior A for the Carleton Place Canadians in 2016-17.

Keller, 19, is a dual French-Swiss citizen who played last season for the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Prior to that, he played several seasons in the Genève-Servette system. Geneva, like Lausanne, is in western Switzerland near the French border, and is primarily French speaking. Keller was a seventh-round pick of the Washington Capitals last summer.

Fatton, 22, is Swiss and moves in from Lugano, where he has played 24 National League games over the past few seasons.

Lausanne also has 21-year-old Kevin Pasche under contract. Last season, Pasche backed up Hughes, and it’s expected he’ll split duties with Keller this season.