Colin Fraser (ice hockey)

Colin Fraser (born January 28, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues. Fraser is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, having won the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, and the Kings in 2012 and 2014. After retiring from professional hockey in 2015, Fraser returned to the Blackhawks to work in their scouting department.[1]

Colin Fraser
Fraser with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals
Born	January 28, 1985 Sicamous, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position	Centre/Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Chicago Blackhawks Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings St. Louis Blues Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers
NHL Draft	69th overall, 2003 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2005–2015

Playing career

Minor/Junior

Fraser was born in Sicamous, but raised in Surrey, British Columbia. Growing up, he played minor hockey with the Pacific Vipers of Vancouver with future Chicago Blackhawks teammates Brent Seabrook, Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer.[2] He went on to play major junior in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Red Deer Rebels for four years. He spent time as their team captain. Following a 52-point campaign in his second WHL season, Fraser was drafted in the third round, 69th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. In the subsequent season after being drafted by the Flyers, Fraser was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 19, 2004, while still in the WHL, along with Jim Vandermeer and a second round selection (Bryan Bickell) in 2004 in exchange for Alexei Zhamnov and a fourth round selection (R. J. Anderson) in 2004.

Professional

Fraser with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010

In the subsequent season after being drafted by the Flyers and while still in the WHL, Fraser was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 19, 2004, along with Jim Vandermeer and a second-round draft pick (Bryan Bickell) in 2004 in exchange for Alexei Zhamnov and a 2004 fourth-round pick (R. J. Anderson). Turning professional in 2004–05, Fraser made his debut with the Blackhawks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, appearing in a handful of games following the completion of his fourth and final WHL season. He remained in Norfolk for several seasons and made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in 2006–07, dressing for one game. In 2007–08, the Rockford IceHogs became Chicago's AHL affiliate, where Fraser scored an AHL career-high 41 points while also playing in five games for the Blackhawks.

During the 2009–10 season, Fraser won the Stanley Cup while playing with the Chicago Blackhawks; he played in three playoff games. On June 24, 2010, it was announced that he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2010 sixth-round draft choice (Mirko Hoefflin).[3]

On June 26, 2011, Fraser was traded by the Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, along with a seventh-round pick in 2012, for Ryan Smyth.[4] Fraser scored the Kings' first goal in Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils, a 2–1 Kings overtime victory. He won his second Stanley Cup on June 11, 2012, with the Kings. He then signed a two-year, $1.65 million contract extension on June 23.[5] On February 8, 2014, the Kings placed Fraser on waivers for the purpose of demoting him to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.[6][7] On April 22, the Kings then recalled Fraser during the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs against the San Jose Sharks;[8] however, he did not appear in any playoff games and was not an official member of the Kings' Stanley Cup-winning team; his name was not engraved on the Cup.

On September 5, 2014, the St. Louis Blues announced that they had signed Fraser to a one-year, two-way contract.[9] He did not win a place with the Blues during training camp and, after clearing waivers, was assigned to the Chicago Wolves, their AHL affiliate. On December 31, 2014, Fraser was recalled by St. Louis from the Wolves and subsequently played his first game for the Blues against the Anaheim Ducks on January 2, 2015.

On June 16, 2015, as an impending free agent, Fraser signed to continue his career in Europe in agreeing to a one-year contract with German club, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.[10] In the midst of the 2015–16 season, Fraser had appeared in 17 games for the Ice Tigers, registering 5 assists, before opting to immediately retire from professional hockey due to personal reasons on November 18, 2015.[11]

After retiring from professional hockey, Fraser became an amateur scout for his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks.[1]

International play

Medal record
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2005 Grand Forks

During his junior career, Fraser competed for Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks. He recorded five points in six games, helping Canada to a gold medal win against Russia in the Final. The gold medal marked Canada's first championship of a five-year run.

Fraser (left) at the 2012 Stanley Cup parade

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001–02	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		67	11	31	42	126		23	2	1	3	39
2002–03	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		69	15	37	52	192		22	7	6	13	40
2003–04	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		70	24	29	53	174		19	5	9	14	24
2004–05	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		63	24	43	67	148		7	2	5	7	8
2004–05	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		3	0	0	0	20		6	1	0	1	2
2005–06	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		73	12	13	25	145		4	0	0	0	7
2006–07	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		67	12	24	36	158		6	1	0	1	21
2006–07	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		1	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Rockford IceHogs	AHL		75	17	24	41	165		12	1	2	3	28
2007–08	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		5	0	0	0	7		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		81	6	11	17	55		2	0	0	0	2
2009–10	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		70	7	12	19	44		3	0	0	0	0
2010–11	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		67	3	2	5	60		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		67	2	6	8	67		18	1	1	2	4
2012–13	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		34	2	5	7	25		16	0	2	2	10
2013–14	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		33	0	2	2	30		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		10	3	3	6	4		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Chicago Wolves	AHL		59	9	8	17	67		5	1	0	1	4
2014–15	St. Louis Blues	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers	DEL		17	0	5	5	69		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				359	20	38	58	290		39	1	3	4	16

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002	Canada Pacific	U17			6	1	0	1	6
2005	Canada	WJC			6	1	4	5	2
Junior totals					12	2	4	6	8

Awards and honours

Award	Year
WHL
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy	2005
Humanitarian of the Year Award	2005
NHL
Stanley Cup (Chicago Blackhawks)	2010
Stanley Cup (Los Angeles Kings)	2012
Stanley Cup (Los Angeles Kings)	2014

Transactions

• June 21, 2003 - Drafted in the 3rd round, 69th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft
• February 19, 2004 - Traded by the Philadelphia Flyers with Jim Vandermeer and the Flyers' 2nd round selection (Bryan Bickell) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for Alexei Zhamnov and the Blackhawks' 4th round selection (R. J. Anderson) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft
• June 24, 2010 - Traded to the Edmonton Oilers from Chicago in exchange for a sixth round draft pick
• June 26, 2011 - Traded to the Los Angeles Kings with a 7th Round Pick in the 2012 draft in exchange for Ryan Smyth

References

1. Powers, Scott. "Colin Fraser at home in new role with Blackhawks". The Athletic.
2. "From Vipers to Hawks, they're still together". Vancouver Sun. 2009-02-07. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009.
3. "Oilers land Colin Fraser". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
4. "Oilers acquire Smyth from Kings for Fraser, 7th round pick". The Sports Network. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
5. "Stoll, Fraser stay aboard". Los Angeles Kings. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
6. Kings place Colin Fraser on waivers
7. "Colin Fraser of the Los Angeles Kings to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL". Archived from the original on 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
8. Kings Recall Colin Fraser
9. Yerdon, Joe (September 5, 2014). "Blues sign Colin Fraser — one-year two-way deal". Pro Hockey Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
10. "Two time Stanley Cup winner Fraser is coming to Nurnberg" (in German). Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers. 2015-06-16. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
11. "Colin Fraser ends his hockey career" (in German). Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers. 2015-11-18. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database