Zackary John Fitzgerald (born June 16, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was most recently the head coach and director of hockey operations for the

Glasgow Clan Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') is a Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire. It is ...

of the

Elite Ice Hockey League 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 ...

(EIHL). He played major junior hockey for the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League WHL, where he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the third round, 88th overall, in the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was ...

. Fitzgerald began his professional career in the Blues organization before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, ultimately playing his lone NHL game for the Canucks in 2007–08. He is mostly known as an enforcer. Fitzgerald was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota, but grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. He is the brother of

Rusty Fitzgerald Russell John Fitzgerald (born October 4, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He was drafted in the second round, 38th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Fitzgerald played twenty-five games in ...

Playing career

Juniors

Fitzgerald played for the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League (WHL) 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." Thanks to his willingness to drop the gloves, Fitzgerald led the Thunderbirds in

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

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. Following the

2002–03 WHL season The 2002–03 WHL season was the 37th season for the Western Hockey League. 19 teams completed a 72-game season. The Kelowna Rockets won the President's Cup. Regular season Final standings Eastern Conference Western Conference * Prince G ...

, in which Fitzgerald finished fourth in the league with 232 PIMs in 64 games, the St. Louis Blues drafted Fitzgerald in the 3rd round number 88 overall.

Professional

Fitzgerald made his professional debut for the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2005–06, however, he split the season between Peoria and the Alaska Aces in the ECHL. He continued to play in both leagues the following season before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Francois-Pierre Guenette in August 2007. Thanks to a blue-line opening created by injuries and call-ups, Fitzgerald received more playing time with Vancouver's AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose. The additional ice time allowed Fitzgerald to refine his game causing his then coach Scott 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." Fitzgerald was also called up to the

NHL 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 ...

during the 2007–08 season; he played one game for Vancouver against the Dallas Stars on February 5, 2008. Following the 2008–09 season, Fitzgerald was not re-signed by the Canucks despite leading the Moose in PIMs, setting AHL career highs in assists and PIMs, being third on the team amongst defensemen at +13, and playing in 16 playoff games. On July 15, 2009 he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes. Fitzgerald attended Carolina's training camp but was assigned to their AHL affiliate the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

. Fitzgerald set several career highs with the River Rats during the 2009–10 season including, games played (77), assists (12), points (14), and PIMs (311). His 311 PIMs lead the AHL. For the 2010–11 season Carolina changed AHL affiliates. As a member of the Charlotte Checkers Fitzgerald recorded 8 assists and led the team with 229 PIMs, which also ranked him ninth in the league. After two seasons in the Hurricanes system Fitzgerald left via free agency and signed a one-year deal with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. Fitzgerald signed with the Adirondack Phantoms on July 3, 2012. On July 14, 2014, Fitzergald signed abroad on a one-year deal for a player/coach role with the

Braehead Clan Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') is a Scotland, Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshir ...

of the EIHL in Scotland. After one season he moved to the Sheffield 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. He left his position at the end of the 2019-20 EIHL season.

Career statistics

References

External links