Player Profile: Alex Iafallo

Alex Iafallo was born on December 21st, 1993, in Eden, New York, USA. He is a forward who primarily plays left-wing and has split his professional hockey career between the Los Angeles Kings and currently the Winnipeg Jets. Listed as 6-foot and 201 pounds, Iafallo shoots left-handed.

In Iafallo’s early playing days, he spent time with the Buffalo Regals U18 team and competed with the Western Region men’s scholastic ice hockey team at the 2010 Empire State Games. At these games, Iafallo and his team won the gold medal. Iafallo also was the top scorer for the Regals during his 2010-11 season where they went on to compete for a national championship.

Committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth

Iafallo spent his 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Fargo Force. He posted 75 points (37G, 38A) in 108 points with the Force and ended up committing to the University of Minnesota-Duluth men’s ice hockey team, the Bulldogs.

Iafallo spent four seasons with the Bulldogs in the NCAA where he would post three seasons of 20 points and a collegiate high 51-point (21G, 30A) season. He recorded a total of 121 points (48G, 73A) in 152 games as a Bulldog and racked up a few awards before he called it a career.

In his rookie season, he was named to the NCAA National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) All-Rookie Team in 2013-14. 22 points (11G, 11A) in his debut 36 games for the Bulldogs was enough for Iafallo to earn a larger role in the following seasons.

As a senior for the Bulldogs, Iafallo was named to the NCAA NCHC All-Tournament Team, the NCHC First All-Star Team, the NCHC Scoring Champion, the NCHC Tournament MVP, and the West First All-American Team. Iafallo and the Bulldogs capped this off with the NCAA NCHC Championship where Iafallo was named to the Championship All-Tournament Team. This put enough eyes on Iafallo to finally get his shot in the NHL.

Signing with the Los Angeles Kings

On April 18th, 2017, Alex Iafallo was signed to a two-year entry-level contract (ELC). Iafallo immediately impressed the Kings’ front office in his rookie camp and main roster training camp where he made the Kings’ 2017-18 opening night roster.

He made his NHL debut for the Kings on October 5th, 2017 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but would have to wait to score his first career goal. 14 long games for Iafallo passed, but finally on November 5th, 2017 against the Nashville Predators, he scored his first career NHL goal which helped the Kings comeback from a three-goal deficit to win 4-3.

Iafallo recorded his first career NHL hat trick on January 30th, 2020 in a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Had the season not shut down due to COVID-19, Iafallo would’ve kept up his 20-goal, 50-point pace. Iafallo spent his 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with an alternate captaincy crest and remained a key part of the Kings’ leadership group.

At the time, Iafallo extended for two years on July 10th, 2019 to stay in Los Angeles. He signed another contract extension, this time a four-year deal on April 12th, 2021, to remain in the Kings’ system. However, Iafallo would find himself moving north of the border as he was packaged in a trade.

Traded to the Winnipeg Jets

On June 27th, 2023, Alex Iafallo, alongside Rasmus Kupari, Gabriel Vilardi, and a 2024 second-round draft pick was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Related: Pierre-Luc Dubois Traded to the Los Angeles Kings

Since Iafallo’s arrival in Winnipeg, he’s been a core veteran piece of the team’s depth. He posted 27 points (11G, 16A) in 82 games in his debut season for the Winnipeg Jets. He added just five postseason games for the Jets where they faced elimination against the Colorado Avalanche during the first round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Iafallo is entering the final year of his four-year contract that he signed with the Los Angeles Kings. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season should the Winnipeg Jets not sign him to an extension.