Colin Fraser

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 two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, and the Kings in 2012. Fraser was a part of the Kings for the 2014 championship, but did not qualify to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup that year. After retiring from professional hockey in 2015, Fraser returned to the Blackhawks to work in their scouting department.

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. 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

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 in the 2010 playoffs (all in the first round against the Nashville Predators.

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).

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. Fraser scored the Kings' first goal in Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final 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.

On February 8, 2014, the Kings placed Fraser on waivers for the purpose of demoting him to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. On April 22, the Kings then recalled Fraser during the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs against the San Jose Sharks; however, he did not appear in enough regular season or playoff games to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup upon their 2014 Stanley Cup Final win.

On September 5, 2014, the St. Louis Blues announced that they had signed Fraser to a one-year, two-way contract. 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 continued his career in Europe, agreeing to a one-year contract with German club, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. 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 for personal reasons on November 18, 2015.

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

International play

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) and Jordan Nolan 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 2000–01 Port Coquitlam Buckaroos PIJHL 38 16 24 40 90 8 2 2 4 21 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 — — — — — AHL totals 289 53 72 125 559 33 4 2 6 62 NHL totals 359 20 38 58 290 39 1 3 4 16

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM2002 Canada Pacific U17 6 1 0 1 6 2002 Canada U18 5 2 1 3 4 2005 Canada WJC 6 1 4 5 2 Junior totals 17 4 5 9 12

Awards and honours Award YearWHL Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy 2005 Humanitarian of the Year Award 2005NHL Stanley Cup champion 2010, 2012