From One Sutter to Another, How Colin Fraser’s Days in Red Deer Prepared Him to be a Stanley Cup Champion

Entering the 2011-12 season, there were a plethora of reasons to be excited if you were a fan of the Los Angeles Kings.

For a long-suffering fanbase who has had to endure their team going through what felt like an endless number of unsuccessful rebuilds, it felt as if there was, at last, light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Yet, while most of the pieces were in place to make a serious Stanley Cup run, there was some unfinished business for the Kings in the form of salary-shedding.

Despite scoring 45 goals and 100 points in his two seasons in Los Angeles, Ryan Smyth gave the Kings a cap hit of $6.25 million. So, shortly following the 2010-11 season, the Kings dealt Smyth to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Colin Fraser and a draft pick.

While there were many Kings fans who were sorry to see Smyth leave town, few could ignore the palpable relief of the silver-and-black having more cap space to work with. But, for the aforementioned Colin Fraser, he knew he would have to wait to suit up for his new team as he was recuperating from a broken foot.

Those who saw Fraser simply as the object of a necessary cap dump by the Kings, however, would soon appreciate the native of Sicamous, B.C. for what he contributed to his new team on the ice. Furthermore, having missed the first few weeks of the 2011-12 campaign, Fraser made his Kings debut that November and wasted little time fitting in. Then, just weeks later, the Kings hired Darryl Sutter as their new head coach, reminding Fraser of playing for his new coach’s brother, Brent, during his junior career with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.

A Rebel With Plenty of Cause

While finding the back of the net was a strength, it was in Red Deer where Fraser really began to harness his physical game, emphasizing a blue-collar style the youngster had already been known for. Brent Sutter gave Fraser the confidence to build on his physical game while scoring a few goals along the way.

“I was always a skilled player growing up but I kind of always played hard and had a little bit of an edge.” Fraser told me. “So, I guess racking up the penalty minutes came naturally to me to play hard all the time. I liked to score goals obviously, but I liked to play to physical and hard just naturally. It fit the Red Deer style and specifically Brent Sutter’s style, who had a huge influence on me not only as a junior player but to become a pro.

“The thing with Brent and all the Sutters is the demanding of hard work, the demand of attention to detail and really how to be a pro. They really get you ready for the next level. They’re not just invested in making you a good junior, they’re invested in, specifically Brent in Red Deer, developing you to become a pro at the next level and he had a huge influence on me on what that would take and how to get there. A really big part of the reason I made it [to the NHL] with my style of play, kind of becoming a fourth-line grinder at the NHL level, was because of him.”

For Brent Sutter, to suggest that he was a fan of Fraser’s is an understatement. For a former NHL veteran who won three Stanley Cups, Sutter knew first-hand just how invaluable Fraser could be at the pro level.

“Having played and having coached at the pro level, you understand what it takes to get there and in Colin’s situation, he was a very determined, hard-working player,” Sutter told me. “His intensity level was through the roof, winning was everything to him.”

Auspicious Start, Inauspicious Setback

Fraser was fortunate enough to experience winning very early in his NHL career as he helped the Chicago Blackhawks end their 49-year Stanley Cup drought — the NHL’s longest at the time — in 2010.

“It was a childhood dream to be a part of it,” Fraser stressed. “And what it means, words can’t really put into perspective how special it was not only to win the Stanley Cup but the Stanley Cup in Chicago. What an organization.”

Fraser, though, was dealt a setback the next year when his new team, the aforementioned Oilers, substantially limited his playing time.

“Being on such a deep team in Chicago, I was excited to potentially move up in the lineup to get more and have an opportunity to play a bigger role, “Fraser began. “Clearly, it didn’t happen in Edmonton and it felt like it went down. I didn’t play at all really as a fourth-liner, I didn’t play a lot of minutes at all, so it was a tough season.”

While it did take some time to get into the lineup, joining the Kings, especially given his unpleasant experience with the Oilers, could not have come at a better time for Fraser.

 

From a Pretender Back to a Contender

“I was over-the-moon excited to have a fresh start [in Los Angeles], but I knew I was going to have to re-prove myself as a player,” Fraser admitted. “I had a little bit of adversity and had to fight this uphill battle to make the lineup. But, I worked hard, got myself back into playing shape and in November, I played my first game with the Kings, scored in my second game and I never got taken out of the lineup again.”

While he may not have been in contention for a scoring title with two goals and six assists, the 2011-12 campaign gave Colin Fraser an opportunity to prove that he was much more than the end result of some salary-shedding. In fact, Fraser’s contributions were largely appreciated on a Kings team that finished 29^th in total offense during the regular season.

“I feel like I proved it’s not about the best players but it’s about filling a role,” emphasized Fraser. “I was able to fill a role in Chicago and win a Stanley Cup, and I was able to fill a role in L.A. and win a Stanley Cup and for whatever reason, Edmonton didn’t see me in that role and didn’t work as well. But, I was glad to be a part of [the Kings] where they saw me in that role and were happy with that and not worried about points and production rather than just bringing it every night.”

Even after parting ways with him at the conclusion of Fraser’s junior career in 2005, Brent Sutter continued to follow his former captain’s game at the pro level.

“The way he played in pro was really no different than the way he played in junior,” Sutter said. “Colin was never a huge point producer but he played the game the right way and there was purpose in his game all the time.

“He was a leader. He was a leader inside the dressing room and on the ice. I give full marks to Colin because he wasn’t one of those guys whose skills were through the roof but his compete level, his purpose level every day was through the roof and it allowed itself to grow and his intensity allowed his skating to get better.”

Despite their anemic offense during the regular season, though, the Kings’ fortunes up front turned around once the playoffs started.

First, they shocked the hockey world by eliminating the President’s Trophy-winning — and overwhelming Stanley Cup favourite — Vancouver Canucks. Then, after needing just nine games to dispose of the St. Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes, the Kings achieved their championship dreams by defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games, who were backed by hockey’s winningest goaltender, Martin Brodeur.

“We finished in 8th place [in the West] but we were riding this wave, feeling good and our team was winning,” an enthusiastic Fraser noted. “So, we kind of rode that streak into the playoffs winning Games 1 and 2 in Vancouver, so we really started to believe that we could do this. We just kept rolling. I mean, we dominated and we had everything going for us. Everyone was healthy, no one got hurt, our goaltending was through the roof — Jonathan Quick was unbelievable.”

Fraser also admitted that, with all due respect to his tenure with the Blackhawks, his 2012 Cup win was a bit more special as he played in 18 games that postseason, as opposed to just three two years earlier.

“For me personally, to talk about how special it was,” Fraser started. “In 2012 when I joined the lineup in November and I played right on through to the Stanley Cup Final, it was a little extra special for me, selfishly and personally, because I contributed more and played every single game was a part of a bigger piece of the puzzle than in Chicago,” the 34-year-old said. “So, [2012] was a little bit more special in the sense that I felt like a bigger part of the win.”

A Coach’s Dream

With all that said, this writer couldn’t help but ask the Rebels’ bench boss if playing for coaches named Sutter made any difference for Fraser.

“Colin’s going to play the same way no matter who the coach is,” a matter-of-fact Sutter responded. “He understood his role [in Red Deer] and played his role extremely well. He was responsible. Winning was always the ultimate to him. He was just a true competitor and he was a smart player. He knew how to play, he knew how to defend, he knew how to take faceoffs.

“At the NHL level, Colin knew his role. He was a fourth-line player. Some nights, he played more than others but regardless of how many minutes he played, every minute was a quality minute and he just knew his role. He was never one to bitch and complain. He did his job and was a leader in the room. Coaches never had any problems with him. Every coach’s personality is different but all coaches want their players to have will, to work hard, to be competitors. Colin was all of that. There’s no difference between myself or Darryl. He had Joel Quenneville as a coach [with the Blackhawks]. He never had to be pushed to be motivated. He just figured out how to do things himself and he went about it. He was a professional in everything he did. He was one of those guys you’d classify as a true pro.”

While this spring may not be the most pleasant for hockey-hungry Kings fans, no one who supports the silver-and-black can think of the playoffs and not reflect on their club’s incredible 2012 run – a run that will always be celebrated.

Fond, Silver-Lined Reflections

Being acquired for a player of Ryan Smyth’s calibre may not the most enviable of situations, but that didn’t matter to Colin Fraser, who would help the Kings win another Stanley Cup in 2014. All Fraser did was add a blue-collar element to a Kings squad determined to win a championship – something that will be revered by the Kings organization and their ever-loyal fanbase for years, and even generations, to come.

Fraser, who now works as a scout for the Blackhawks, couldn’t help but fondly reflect on his championship success in the NHL.

“2010, that first one is special. There are a lot of guys who play and don’t get any; 2012 especially just because I contributed more. Then 2014, it’s just the storyline of how we did it with three series of seven games and then beating the [New York] Rangers in five [in the Stanley Cup Final], it was pretty crazy as well, “a glowing Fraser recalls. “You go your whole life dreaming of winning a Stanley Cup and, being a part of three teams, I consider myself very lucky and maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket or two along the way, but I was able to play with a lot of good players and for a lot of good coaches for some good organizations. I consider myself fortunate looking back on it.”

As celebrated as the likes of Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty were, Colin Fraser’s contributions to the 2012 Los Angeles Kings have the ability to hit home with fans of any team in any sport.

As human beings, we may not always be the most popular, the most skilled or the most highly-touted with what we do, but we work hard to be appreciated and we dedicate ourselves to contribute in ways we were put on this planet for. Colin Fraser is the epitome of what it takes to succeed: to work hard, to overcome internal and external adversity and having the opportunity to celebrate that when (not if) we succeed.

When this writer looks back on the 2012 Los Angeles Kings, he giddily smiles at how a team, who barely squeaked into the playoffs, made unprecedented history en route to awarding their ever-loyal fanbase with arguably the greatest championship trophy in professional sports.

You can be sure that Colin Fraser is, and always be, a significant part of any and all reflections of what was the monumental spring of 2012.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the SoCal sports teams! All Cali, All the time

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