| Zack Fitzgerald | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1985-01-25)January 25, 1985 (age 40) Two Harbors,Minnesota,U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Sheffield Steelers | ||
| NHL draft | 88th overall,2003 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 2005–2019 | ||
Zackary John Fitzgerald (born June 16, 1985) is an American former professionalice hockey player. He was most recently the head coach and director of hockey operations for theGlasgow Clan of theElite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
He playedmajor junior hockey for theSeattle Thunderbirds in theWestern Hockey League WHL, where he was drafted by theSt. Louis Blues in the third round, 88th overall, in the2003 NHL Entry Draft. Fitzgerald began his professional career in the Blues organization before he was traded to theVancouver Canucks, ultimately playing his lone NHL game for the Canucks in2007–08. He is mostly known as an enforcer. Fitzgerald was born inTwo Harbors, Minnesota, but grew up inDuluth, Minnesota. He is the brother ofRusty Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald played for theSeattle Thunderbirds in theWestern Hockey League (WHL)[1] where he became a physical presence and learned the art of fighting. He stated "When I got into junior I didn't know anything about fighting and the doors just kind of opened to it. We had a pretty tough team and I always played physical when I was young so fighting just became a part of my game."[2] Thanks to his willingness to drop the gloves, Fitzgerald led the Thunderbirds inpenalty minutes twice during his four-year stay (he was second on the team in his other two years) and led the league with 244 penalty minutes for the 2004–05 season.[1] Following the2002–03 WHL season, in which Fitzgerald finished fourth in the league with 232 PIMs in 64 games, the St. Louis Blues drafted Fitzgerald in the3rd round number 88 overall.
Fitzgerald made his professional debut for thePeoria Rivermen in theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) in 2005–06, however, he split the season between Peoria and theAlaska Aces in theECHL. He continued to play in both leagues the following season[3] before he was traded to theVancouver Canucks forFrancois-Pierre Guenette in August 2007.[4]
Thanks to a blue-line opening created by injuries and call-ups, Fitzgerald received more playing time with Vancouver's AHL affiliate theManitoba Moose. The additional ice time allowed Fitzgerald to refine his game causing his then coachScott Arniel to say "He's had an opportunity to play and play regularly and his game has been very good. He's been very responsible in our end of the rink, he's done a great job of making that first pass and you can see he has confidence because he's playing a lot. I think what he's trying to do is show people that he's more than just a fighter."[2] Fitzgerald was also called up to theNHL during the2007–08 season; he played one game for Vancouver against theDallas Stars on February 5, 2008.
Following the2008–09 season, Fitzgerald was not re-signed by the Canucks despite leading the Moose in PIMs, setting AHL career highs inassists and PIMs, being third on the team amongst defensemen at+13, and playing in 16 playoff games.[1] On July 15, 2009 he signed as an unrestricted free agent with theCarolina Hurricanes.[4] Fitzgerald attended Carolina's training camp but was assigned to their AHL affiliate theAlbany River Rats.[1] Fitzgerald set several career highs with the River Rats during the2009–10 season including, games played (77), assists (12), points (14), and PIMs (311). His 311 PIMs lead the AHL.[5] For the2010–11 season Carolina changed AHL affiliates. As a member of theCharlotte Checkers Fitzgerald recorded 8 assists and led the team with 229 PIMs, which also ranked him ninth in the league.[6][7] After two seasons in the Hurricanes system Fitzgerald left via free agency and signed a one-year deal with the AHL'sHamilton Bulldogs.[6]
Fitzgerald signed with theAdirondack Phantoms on July 3, 2012.[8]
On July 14, 2014, Fitzergald signed abroad on a one-year deal for a player/coach role with theBraehead Clan of the EIHL in Scotland.[9]
After one season he moved to theSheffield Steelers, where he was named an assistant captain. He remained with the Steelers for three seasons before returning to the Clan (now known as the Glasgow Clan) for the 2018–19 season, where he captained the team.
On May 30, 2019, Fitzgerald was named head coach and director of hockey operations for the Glasgow Clan, retiring him as a player in the process – although he did appear sporadically as injury cover throughout the season.[10] He left his position at the end of the2019-20 EIHL season.[11]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | East High School | HSMN | 26 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 61 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 214 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 2002–03 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 64 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 232 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 33 | ||
| 2003–04 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 58 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 163 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 65 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 244 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 | ||
| 2005–06 | Alaska Aces | ECHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 108 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Alaska Aces | ECHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 82 | ||
| 2007–08 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 48 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 158 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 56 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 209 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 2009–10 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 77 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 311 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 76 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 229 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | ||
| 2011–12 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 74 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 268 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 36 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 202 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 231 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Braehead Clan | EIHL | 44 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 304 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | Sheffield Steelers | EIHL | 48 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 197 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Sheffield Steelers | EIHL | 47 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 197 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Sheffield Steelers | EIHL | 37 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 181 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2018–19 | Glasgow Clan | EIHL | 56 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 178 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | Glasgow Clan | EIHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 447 | 11 | 38 | 49 | 1741 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 60 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| EIHL totals | 236 | 11 | 53 | 64 | 1057 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | ||||