Curt Fraser

Curtis Martin Fraser (born January 12, 1958) is a former ice hockey player of dual American and Canadian citizenship.

Curt Fraser
Born	January 12, 1958 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Minnesota North Stars Chicago Black Hawks Vancouver Canucks
National team	United States
NHL Draft	22nd overall, 1978 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1978–1990

Fraser was born in Cincinnati while his father played for the International Hockey League's Cincinnati Mohawks. He was raised in Winnipeg and Vancouver. Fraser was diagnosed with diabetes in 1983 and is active in fundraising and awareness efforts for the disease.[1]

Playing career

As a youth, he played in the 1971 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from North Vancouver.[2]

Fraser played junior hockey with the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League, where he set franchise records for goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes. He was then drafted 22nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He made the team right away and was placed on a line with fellow rookies Thomas Gradin and Stan Smyl. The trio would be the Canucks' top offensive line for the next four years and play a large role in the club's trip to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals.

On December 20, 1982, Fraser was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks for Tony Tanti. He had his best season in Chicago, registering 68 points (29 goals and 39 assists) in only 61 games in 1985–86. After five years with the Hawks, he was dealt to the Minnesota North Stars on January 2, 1988 for Dirk Graham. After playing in only 53 games over the next two and a half years with the Stars, his back problems forced him to retire in 1990.

Owing to his dual U.S./Canadian citizenship, Fraser has represented both countries in international tournaments. He played for Canada at the 1978 World Junior Championship and for the USA at the 1987 Canada Cup.[3]

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Fraser embarked upon a coaching career. After minor league stops in Milwaukee, Syracuse, and Orlando, Fraser became the first head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999. His record was 64–169–46 over three and a half seasons with Atlanta before being fired in 2003. Since then he has served as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues.

Recently, he has coached the Belarusian national men's ice hockey team at the 2007 and 2008 IIHF World Championships.

On July 23, 2008, the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins hired Fraser as their head coach, where he served until June 18, 2012 when he was hired by the Dallas Stars as assistant coach.[4] He remained in that position for five seasons.[5]

Fraser was named head coach of Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the second half of the 2018–19 season.[6][7] He remained with Kunlun through to the 2019–20 season, unable to guide the Chinese club to the post-season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1973–74	Kelowna Buckaroos	BCHL		52	32	32	64	85		—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		68	17	32	49	105		12	2	3	5	22
1975–76	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		71	43	64	107	167		18	3	8	11	38
1976–77	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		60	34	41	75	82		4	4	2	6	4
1977–78	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		66	48	44	92	256		13	10	7	17	28
1978–79	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78	16	19	35	116		3	0	2	2	6
1979–80	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78	17	25	42	143		4	0	0	0	2
1980–81	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		77	25	24	49	118		3	1	0	1	2
1981–82	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		79	28	39	67	175		17	3	7	10	98
1982–83	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		36	6	7	13	99		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		38	6	13	19	77		13	4	4	8	18
1983–84	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		29	5	12	17	28		5	0	0	0	14
1984–85	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		73	25	25	50	109		15	6	3	9	36
1985–86	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		61	29	39	68	84		3	0	1	1	12
1986–87	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		75	25	25	50	182		2	1	1	2	10
1987–88	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		27	4	6	10	57		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		10	1	1	2	20		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		35	5	5	10	76		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		8	1	0	1	22		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				704	193	240	433	1306		65	15	18	33	198

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978	Canada	WJC		5	0	2	2	0
1987	United States	CC		5	0	1	1	4

Coaching

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Division rank	Result
Atlanta Thrashers	1999–2000	82	14	57	7	4	39	5th in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
	2000–01	82	23	45	12	2	60	4th in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
	2001–02	82	19	47	11	5	54	5th in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
	2002–03	33	8	20	1	4	(74)	3rd in Southeast	Missed Playoffs
Total		279	64	169	31	15

References

1. "Grand Rapids Griffins: Curt Fraser". Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
3. "Legends of Hockey: Curt Fraser". Retrieved November 22, 2009.
4. "Curt Fraser leaves Grand Rapids Griffins for Dallas Stars". June 18, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
5. Fraley, Gerry (June 18, 2018). "Stars keeping two assistants on Montgomery's first coaching staff". sportsday.dallasnews.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
6. "Jussi Tapola ja Jyrki Aho saivat potkut KHL:ssä!".
7. "新闻详情". Retrieved March 31, 2019.

External links

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