Luke Fulghum (born October 16, 1980, in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

) is an American 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 hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, currently playing for the

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hoc ...

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 E ...

Playing career

Fulghum began his career in 1998 playing at junior level for the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterl ...

in Waterloo,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. The Black Hawks are a Tier 1 junior level hockey team, but despite the high standard, Fulghum adapted well, playing in 52

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

games and scoring 30 points. His production improved the following season to a point per game in a 47-game spell, helping the Black Hawks into the post-season. In his final season in Waterloo, Fulghum featured in 21 games and scored 31 points before being traded mid-season to the

Dubuque Fighting Saints The Dubuque Fighting Saints are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and are based in the city of Dubuque, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River at the border intersects of Iowa, Illinois, and W ...

, fierce rivals to the Black Hawks. Again Fulghum consistently scored points, managing 31 points in 34 games to the end of the season. For the 2001–02 season, Fulghum moved into college hockey, signing for the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

in his home state of

. In his first season at

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

level, Fulghum took time to adapt but established himself as a regular player, scoring 12 points in 35 games. This improved in the 2002–03 season to 28 points in 40 games. After four productive seasons in Denver, Fulghum scored a total of 112 points and moved on to the ill-fated AHL

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was a ...

, but move again after just two games. He split the 2005–06 season between the

Pensacola Ice Pilots The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a professional ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders (2006–07), and the Chicago Blackhawks. They h ...

and the AHL

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. Fulghum again played for the Marlies in the 2006–07 season, but spent the majority of the season again at

level, this time with the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Columb ...

. For 2007–08, Fulghum became a

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

player, but again failed to establish himself, playing just once before returning to ECHL level with the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...

. After just five games another mid-season move took place, this time to the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. On ...

. With a regular run in the team, Fulghum again found his scoring touch, with 24 points in 34 games, totals that pushed the Jackals into the post-season where Fulghum scored 4 points in 6 games prior to the Jackals elimination. In the summer of 2008, Fulghum made the decision to play his hockey in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for the first time, signing for the

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

Manchester Phoenix Manchester Phoenix was a semi professional ice hockey team from Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group ''Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey'' to bring top-level ice hockey back to Ma ...

, a team icing at the highest level of hockey in the United Kingdom. The deal was announced in August 2008 by head coach

Tony Hand Anthony Hand MBE (born 15 August 1967) is a Scottish former ice hockey player and coach. He was the first British player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. Nicknamed ''Two point Tony'', he holds sever ...

. Fulghum's first season in UK ice hockey was a positive one which showed off his high work-rate and point scoring ability - Fulghum scored 84 points in just 67 games. At the end of the season, due to off-ice financial problems, the Phoenix chose to play in the EPL instead, meaning they could not keep Fulghum on their roster due to his not having a dual passport. He opted to remain in the EIHL and in June 2009 signed for the

Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze are an ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the ''Solihull Barons'' and rena ...

. He was released from his contract with the Coventry Blaze on December 1, 2011, and was immediately snapped up by the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

On June 21, 2012, Fulghum signed with the

Denver Cutthroats The Denver Cutthroats were a minor league ice hockey team, as a member of the Central Hockey League, that began play in the 2012–13 season. They served as a farm team of the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche and the American Hockey ...

for their

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

inaugural season. In doing so, he became the second player in franchise history to join the team, following defenseman

Aaron MacKenzie Aaron G. MacKenzie (born March 7, 1981, in Terrace Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played briefly in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche, where he currently resides. Playing caree ...

. After a solitary season with the Cutthroats in which he contributed with 20 goals and 53 points in 65 games, and after initially re-signing with the Cutthroats for another year, Fulgham switched over to cross-town competitors the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL on September 12, 2013.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulghum, Luke 1980 births American men's ice hockey forwards Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Colorado Eagles players Columbia Inferno players Coventry Blaze players Denver Cutthroats players Dubuque Fighting Saints players Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Living people Manchester Phoenix players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Pensacola Ice Pilots players St. John's Maple Leafs players Stockton Thunder players Toronto Marlies players University of Denver alumni Ice hockey players from Colorado