Mark Fraser (ice hockey)

Mark Alexander Fraser (born September 29, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Mark Fraser
Fraser with the Bakersfield Condors in 2017
Born (1986-09-29) September 29, 1986 (age 38)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs
Edmonton Oilers
TPS
HKm Zvolen
Schwenninger Wild Wings
NHL draft 84th overall, 2005
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2006–2020

Playing career

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Fraser played junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League from 2004–06. In his second season with the Rangers, his hard working style earned him the captaincy after Mike Richards left the team. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round, 84th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he played his first professional games, joining the AHL Albany River Rats for four games. He played his first full professional season in 2006–07 with the Lowell Devils, and he played seven games for the New Jersey Devils as well. He remained with Lowell until 2009–10, when he made the New Jersey roster out of training camp.

He scored his first NHL goal on October 24, 2009, against Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On December 12, 2011, Fraser, along with Rod Pelley and a 2012 seventh round draft pick, was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Kurtis Foster and Timo Pielmeier.[1] On February 27, 2012, Fraser was traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dale Mitchell.

On July 30, 2013, Fraser and the Toronto Maple Leafs avoided salary arbitration and agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.275 million.[2] In the following 2013–14 season, Fraser was unable to match his performance from the lockout season and on January 31, 2014, he was traded by the Leafs to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for the rights to Teemu Hartikainen and Cam Abney.[3]

A free agent into the 2014–15 season, Fraser made a return of sort to the New Jersey Devils organization in signing a one-year AHL contract with affiliate, the Albany Devils on November 2, 2014.[4] He was later signed for the remainder of the season on an NHL contract with the Devils on December 18, 2014. Fraser's return was complete on January 3, 2015 when he played with New Jersey Devils against Philadelphia Flyers.[5]

Fraser was not tendered an offer by the Devils and was released to free agency. Left without a contract by September, he would make a return to the Leafs, signing a professional try-out. He would ultimately be released without a deal.

On September 28, 2015, the Ottawa Senators signed Fraser to a one-year, two-way contract. After one year playing for the team's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, he left as a free agent and returned to the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year, two-way deal on July 1, 2016.[6]

As an un-signed free agent leading into the 2017–18 season, Fraser opted to pursue a career abroad, agreeing to an initial try-out offer with Finnish outfit HC TPS of the Liiga on November 16, 2017.[7]

After a second season abroad in the Slovak Extraliga with HKm Zvolen, Fraser signed a one-year contract for the 2019-20 season with German outfit, Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL on May 6, 2019.[8]

Personal

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Fraser is the son of former sprinter and Ontario Court of Justice Judge, Hugh Fraser,[9] and retired teacher Ann Kennedy.

After his playing career came to a close, Fraser was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in February 2021 "for a role focused on player development with its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team."[10]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Gloucester Rangers U18 AAA HEO 31 4 14 18 62
2002–03 Gloucester Rangers CJHL 5 0 0 0 4
2003–04 Gloucester Rangers CJHL 50 0 11 11 105 20 0 3 3 32
2004–05 Kitchener Rangers OHL 58 0 8 8 96 15 0 3 3 26
2005–06 Kitchener Rangers OHL 59 0 5 5 129 5 0 1 1 4
2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 4 0 0 0 2
2006–07 Lowell Devils AHL 71 1 8 9 73
2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 0 0 0 7
2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 79 1 17 18 96
2008–09 Lowell Devils AHL 74 3 14 17 152
2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 61 3 3 6 36 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 26 0 2 2 29
2010–11 Albany Devils AHL 5 0 1 1 0
2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 4 0 0 0 14
2011–12 Syracuse Crunch AHL 25 0 5 5 35
2011–12 Toronto Marlies AHL 20 0 2 2 32 17 0 3 3 31
2012–13 Toronto Marlies AHL 30 2 3 5 114
2012–13 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 45 0 8 8 85 4 0 1 1 7
2013–14 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 19 0 1 1 33
2013–14 Edmonton Oilers NHL 23 1 0 1 43
2014–15 Albany Devils AHL 18 1 2 3 45
2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 34 0 4 4 55
2015–16 Binghamton Senators AHL 60 2 5 7 136
2016–17 Bakersfield Condors AHL 65 3 3 6 79
2017–18 TPS Liiga 32 0 5 5 64 11 0 0 0 8
2018–19 HKm Zvolen Slovak 27 1 10 11 69 12 0 1 1 2
2019–20 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 50 1 6 7 70
AHL totals 451 13 60 73 764 17 0 3 3 31
NHL totals 219 4 18 22 302 5 0 1 1 7

References

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  1. ^ Chere, Rich (December 12, 2011). "Devils trade Rod Pelley, Mark Fraser to Ducks for Kurtis Foster and goalie". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "Maple Leafs sign Fraser to one-year, $1.275M contract". TSN. July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  3. ^ "Maple Leafs trade Mark Fraser to Edmonton Oilers for prospects". Toronto Star. January 31, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "Devils sign Mark Fraser". Albany Devils. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mark Fraser to make his return to Devils and NHL". NJ.com. January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  6. ^ "Oilers sign Mark Fraser". Edmonton Oilers. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mark Fraser the latest signing to TPS" (in Finnish). HC TPS. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "Fraser completes defense of Wild Wings" (in German). Schwenninger Wild Wings. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Baines, Tim (August 29, 2013). "Ottawa-born NHLer Mark Fraser proud to play for Toronto Maple Leafs". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "Maple Leafs hire Mark Fraser for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion role – Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
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