Jason Fitzsimmons (born June 3, 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender, who played six seasons in the ECHL and AHL, most notably for the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

. He is currently a professional scout for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Playing career

Drafted from the

Moose Jaw Warriors The Moose Jaw Warriors are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Moose Jaw Events Centre ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

in the 11th round of the

1991 NHL Entry Draft The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...

by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, Fitzsimmons made his professional debut with the

Hamilton Canucks The Hamilton Canucks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They played in Hamilton, Ontario, at Copps Coliseum. They were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The tea ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

in the 1992-93 season. He also appeared in the AHL with the

Cape Breton Oilers The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hali ...

, Syracuse Crunch and

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

. Fitzsimmons suited up with the

Columbus Chill The Columbus Chill were a professional ice hockey team that played in the East Coast Hockey League from October 1991 through the 1998–99 season. They played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio. The Chill left Columbus in 1999 and ...

, but found most of his professional success as a goaltender with the

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. Fitzsimmons was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1997

Playoffs, backstopping South Carolina to the 1997 Kelly Cup Championship. Fitzsimmons is also a member of the Hall of Fame for the

and

Coaching career

Starting with the 1998-99 season, Fitzsimmons was the assistant coach of the South Carolina Stingrays. Following the 2001-02 season, he was promoted to head coach. The 'Rays saw much regular season success under Fitzsimmons' coaching, seeing 188 wins in the five seasons he was coach. However, the Stingrays didn't advance past the second round of the playoffs, and didn't qualify for the playoffs in his final season as coach. At the end of the 2006-07 season, Fitzsimmons stepped down as head coach, and assistant coach and former Stingray

Jared Bednar Jared Bednar (born February 28, 1972) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously coached the Lake Erie Monsters of the ...

became the head coach. He has since become a scout for the Stingrays' NHL affiliate, the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimmons, Jason 1971 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cape Breton Oilers players Columbus Chill players ECHL coaches Hamilton Canucks players Living people Moose Jaw Warriors players Rochester Americans players South Carolina Stingrays coaches South Carolina Stingrays players Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan Syracuse Crunch players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Washington Capitals executives Washington Capitals scouts