Colton Fretter (born March 12, 1982) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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) ** Smal ...

Playing career

Born in

Harrow, Ontario Harrow is a community located in the town of Essex, Ontario, Canada. History First known as ''Munger's Corners'' after John Munger, the first postmaster, the town was renamed by John O'Connor in 1857 for the exclusive Harrow School in London. ...

, Fretter played Jr. B hockey for Chatham Maroons until 2001-2002 where they recorded no more than nine losses for three straight seasons, winning two championships and three division titles. Before attending Michigan State University he was drafted in the eighth round (230th overall) of the 2002 NHL draft by Atlanta Thrashers, now Winnipeg Jets. He attended four years at Michigan State University, recording 158 games, 43 goals, 69 assists, for 112 points and was a plus/minus +16 (career) He began his professional career by playing with the

Gwinnett Gladiators Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, being located about northeast of Atlanta city limits. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the ...

of the

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

where he played in the 2006-2007 ECHL All-Star game. He was also named ECHL rookie of the year despite missing some games due to injury. During 2007-2008 season, he split time between three teams: Gwinnett, and the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 200 ...

and the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

, both of the AHL. Fretter signed a two-way deal with

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

on August 4, 2008 and was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

. He played in a career high 80 games with the Pirates, scoring 40 points. On August 3, 2009, Fretter signed a one-year contract with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. After spending the 2010–11 season in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with the Bolzano-Bozen Foxes on May 20, 2011, Fretter signed a one-year contract with German DEL team, Iserlohn Roosters. After a solitary season with

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

club,

EHC Olten EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...

of the

National League B The Swiss League, also known as the Sky Swiss League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League (ice hockey), National League. The winners of the league each ...

, Fretter returned to Germany on a try-out with DEL club,

EHC München EHC may refer to: * Eastern Harbour Crossing, a transport tunnel in Hong Kong * EHC Hoensbroek, a Dutch football club * The Electric Hellfire Club, an American industrial metal band * Encompass Health, an American healthcare provider * Environmenta ...

on July 29, 2013. Unable to secure a contract in Munich, Fretter played the season in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It c ...

with

EC KAC Klagenfurt Athletic Sports Club or EC KAC () is an Austrian professional ice hockey team in the ICE Hockey League. The team plays their home games in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria at Stadthalle. EC KAC has won the most Austrian ice hockey Cham ...

, contributing with 36 points in 46 games. On August 6, 2014, Fretter opted to sign a one-year contract in the EIHL with British club, the Sheffield Steelers.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fretter, Colton Living people 1982 births Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Bolzano HC players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Gwinnett Gladiators players Iserlohn Roosters players EC KAC players EHC Kloten players Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States EHC Olten players Portland Pirates players Springfield Falcons players Sheffield Steelers players People from Essex, Ontario Ice hockey people from Essex County, Ontario 21st-century Canadian sportsmen