Tanner Fritz
Fritz with the Islanders in 2018
Born (1991-08-20) August 20, 1991
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams		 Dinamo Minsk
New York Islanders
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2015–present

Tanner Fritz (born August 20, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently under contract with HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

Amateur

Fritz played for the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for four years.[1] While playing with the Storm, he graduated from Grande Prairie St. Joseph High School in 2009 and was named the 2011 AJHL MVP after leading the team in points and ranking fourth in the league. He then attended Ohio State University, and played for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey team.[2] Fritz stated that he became interested in Ohio State after his cousin, Daymen Rycroft, began his freshman season there.[3]

While majoring in sport industry, Fritz played 34 games in his freshman season.[2] He scored his first collegiate goal on November 5, 2011, in a 2–0 win over Alabama-Huntsville.[4] In his sophomore year, Fritz played in 40 games and set new career highs with 37 points. He was named to the Second Team All-CCHA,[5] 2013 CCHA scoring champion,[6] Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, and Academic All-Big Ten.[2]

In his junior year, despite missing five games due to an injury, Fritz ranked third on team in points and fourth in the conference for assists.[2] At the conclusion of the season, Fritz was again named an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and was selected for the Academic All-Big Ten and 2014 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.[2]

Prior to his senior year, Fritz participated in the Chicago Blackhawks 2014 Prospect Camp.[7] However, he returned to Ohio State and served as the team's captain for the 2014–15 season.[8][9]

Professional

Fritz ended his collegiate career by signing with the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL for the 2015–16 season.[10] However, he tried out for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2015–16 season, and made the team.[11] In 43 games for the Mavericks, Fritz scored ten goals and 33 points. In 19 games for the Sound Tigers, he had two goals and 12 points.

Fritz returned exclusively to the Sound Tigers for the 2016-17 season. He upped his previous season's totals by scoring 19 goals and 23 assists in 63 games. On March 29, 2017, Fritz signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Sound Tigers' National Hockey League (NHL) affiliate, the New York Islanders. The contract was set to begin in the 2017-18 season.[12] The Islanders recalled Fritz for the first time on January 1, 2018.[13] and he recorded his first NHL goal on February 19 against the Minnesota Wild.[14]

On May 31, 2019, the Islanders re-signed Fritz to a two-year contract extension.[15]

Following his sixth season within the Islanders organization, Fritz left as a free agent and on September 15, 2021, was signed a one-year contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, the primary affiliate of the New York Rangers.[16]

Following two successful seasons with the Wolf Pack, Fritz opted to return to the Islanders organization as a free agent, signing a one-year AHL deal with Bridgeport on September 5, 2023.[17] In the 2023-24 season, Fritz made 20 regular season appearances with Bridgeport, posting 1 goal and 7 points, before he opted to be released from his contract and sign his first contract abroad in agreeing to a two-year deal with HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL on December 28, 2023.[18]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Grande Prairie Storm AJHL 28 4 4 8 14 12 0 1 1 4
2008–09 Grande Prairie Storm AJHL 57 19 24 43 30 19 4 8 12 4
2009–10 Grande Prairie Storm AJHL 54 27 27 54 62 9 1 5 6 2
2010–11 Grande Prairie Storm AJHL 60 31 43 74 29 5 3 3 6 4
2011–12 Ohio State University CCHA 34 6 8 14 21 — — — — —
2012–13 Ohio State University CCHA 40 11 26 37 12 — — — — —
2013–14 Ohio State University B1G 32 8 24 32 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Ohio State University B1G 36 11 16 27 6 — — — — —
2015–16 Missouri Mavericks ECHL 43 10 23 33 10 — — — — —
2015–16 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 19 2 10 12 0 3 0 2 2 0
2016–17 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 63 19 23 42 30 — — — — —
2017–18 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 35 10 28 38 26 — — — — —
2017–18 New York Islanders NHL 34 3 4 7 8 — — — — —
2018–19 New York Islanders NHL 8 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 57 12 25 37 20 — — — — —
2019–20 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 4 0 0 0 7 — — — — —
2020–21 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 20 3 3 6 10 — — — — —
2021–22 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 62 13 23 36 42 — — — — —
2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 67 10 33 43 26 9 1 9 10 10
2023–24 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 20 1 6 7 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 42 3 5 8 10 — — — — —

References

  1. ↑ nurun.com (August 20, 2017). "Fritz eager for potential NHL opportunity". Daily Herald Tribune. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "TANNER FRITZ". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. May 22, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ Merriman, Sean (January 17, 2014). "Frozen Friday Q&A: Ohio State's Tanner Fritz". btn.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Nov. 5, 2011 OSU at UAH Box 1105". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. November 5, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Buckeyes Heading to The Joe for CCHA Championship". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Hjelle, Fritz and Dzingel Receive All-CCHA Honors". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. March 13, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Boron, Brad (July 11, 2014). "2014 Prospect Camp Preview: By The Numbers". NHL.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Noel Fogelman – Tanner Fritz on the verge of the NHL". HockeyBuzz.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Fritz ready to lead Ohio State". DailyHeraldTribune.com. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ "MAVERICKS SIGN TANNER FRITZ". kcmavericks.com. June 24, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ Fornabaio, Michael (December 6, 2017). "'Utility player' Fritz making his name with Sound Tigers – Connecticut Post". Ctpost.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  12. ↑ "#Isles Transaction: Tanner Fritz has agreed to terms on a two-way (NHL/AHL) contract that will begin in the 2017-18 season". Twitter. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Noel Fogelman – Islanders send Beauvillier to Bridgeport". HockeyBuzz.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Cullen, Ennis lead Wild to win over Islanders". TSN.com. New York. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Fritz Agrees to Terms on Two-Year Contract". New York Islanders. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Hartford Wolf Pack ink veteran forward Tanner Fritz to AHL contract for 2021-22 season". hartfordwolfpack.com. September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bridgeport Islanders sign forward Tanner Fritz". Bridgeport Islanders. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Tanner Fritz will move to Dinamo Minsk" (in Russian). December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
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