Introduction
Matthew John Fraser (born May 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing. He is currently under contract with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League for the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers.
Playing career
Fraser played major junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL), winning the 2010–11 WHL championship with the Kootenay Ice.
On November 17, 2010, the Dallas Stars signed Fraser as a free agent to a three-year entry level contract. Fraser started the 2011–12 season playing with the Stars' top American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars, where he scored 21 goals in his first 40 games. Fraser was leading his AHL team in scoring when, on January 24, 2012, he was called up to the Dallas Stars to make his NHL debut. After one game he was returned to Texas and finished with a franchise high 37 goals, second in the league. On February 25, 2013, he scored his first career NHL goal against the Nashville Predators with Pekka Rinne in net.
On July 4, 2013, Fraser was included in a trade between the Stars and Boston Bruins which sent Loui Eriksson to Boston and Tyler Seguin to Dallas in a seven-player deal. Boston traded Seguin, Rich Peverley and Ryan Button to Dallas for Eriksson, Fraser, Joe Morrow and Reilly Smith.Fraser and Ryan Spooner were called up by the Boston Bruins from AHL Providence on December 8, 2013.On May 7, 2014, Fraser was recalled by Boston to make his NHL playoff debut the following day where he scored the overtime winner, giving the Bruins a 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on May 18 to even the Eastern Conference Semifinals series 2-2.
In the 2014–15 season, Fraser was claimed off waivers from the Bruins by the Edmonton Oilers on December 29, 2014. Fraser scored 5 goals in 36 games to end the year with the Oilers, however was not retained with a qualifying offer, releasing him to free agency.On July 2, 2015, Fraser signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
In the 2015–16 season, while with the Jets AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on February 25, 2016, Fraser was traded by Winnipeg alongside Andrew Ladd and Jay Harrison to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Marko Daňo and a first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Unable to crack an NHL roster in a full-time role in five seasons, Fraser left North America as a free agent in signing a one-year deal with Swedish club, Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League on September 9, 2016. After one season in Rögle, Fraser moved to Austria to compete with Dornbirner EC of the EBEL.
On April 11, 2018, Fraser moved to the neighbouring German league of the DEL, agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2018–19 season with Augsburger Panther.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 63 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 63 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 123 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2009–10 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 65 | 32 | 24 | 56 | 117 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2009–10 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 66 | 36 | 38 | 74 | 115 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 18 | ||
| 2011–12 | Texas Stars | AHL | 73 | 37 | 18 | 55 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Texas Stars | AHL | 62 | 33 | 13 | 46 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 40 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 34 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 36 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 44 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Rögle BK | SHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Dornbirner EC | EBEL | 51 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 52 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 36 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 87 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy – Humanitarian of the Year | 2009–10 | |
| Champion (Kootenay Ice) | 2010–11 | |