Curt Fraser

Curt Fraser
Curt Fraser
Born	January 12, 1958 (age 66); 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	Vancouver Canucks; Chicago Black Hawks; Minnesota North Stars
National team	United States
NHL draft	22nd overall, 1978; Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1978–1990

Curtis Martin Fraser (born January 12, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played for the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1978-79 and 1989-90. He featured in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals with the Canucks.

Fraser was born in Cincinnati while his father, Barry Beatty played for the International Hockey League's Cincinnati Mohawks, and was raised in Winnipeg and Vancouver. He holds dual Canadian and American citizenship. 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	1,306	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
Team	Year	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

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

External links

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

Sporting positions
Preceded by Position created	Head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers 1999-2002	Succeeded by Don Waddell

[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. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. 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". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.

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