Paul David Allen Fricker is a Canadian retired ice hockey

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Career

While born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Fricker played his junior hockey in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, reaching the WHL for 1 game 1979. Because it was just a single game, Fricker was able to retain his college eligibility by not receiving payment for his services. That fall he began attending

in the final recruiting class for Dan Farrell. Fricker played 35 games and helped the team recover from a dismal season the year before by winning 20 games and lifting the Wolverines up to 4th in the conference. Though the team was knocked out in the

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the playoffs, Fricker had made enough of a name for himself to be drafted by the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

. Entering his second season, Fricker got a new head coach in Wilf Martin, however, the bench boss lasted just 4 games due to ill health and was replaced by John Giordano. The change didn't seem to bother Fricker as he posted very similar marks to what he had the year before and was named an All-American. This time he was able to help the Wolverines win their first round matchup but were helpless against

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Uppe ...

in the second round and lost 2–9 on aggregate. After the season Fricker passed on his final two years of eligibility and signed a professional contract with the Whalers. He began the next season in Hartford's minor league system, playing the bulk of the year with the

Oklahoma City Stars The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA ...

before transitioning to the AHL in 1982. Fricker showed promise in his first full season with Binghamton, splitting time in net, but his numbers ballooned in 1984 and he was released by Hartford after the year. Fricker played 4 games the following year before calling it a career and returned home. Fricker became the head coach for the Delta Flyers in 1986 but lasted just a season behind the bench. A few years later he founded 'The Goalie Store' a small business that manufactured custom ice hockey and lacrosse goaltending equipment. On the company website, Fricker would post articles giving tips about how to play the position and he was able to parlay that knowledge into eventually becoming the goaltending coach for the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

. Fricker remained with Seattle for seven years before taking the same job closer to home with the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team playing based in Langley, British Columbia, and playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Founded in 2001, the Giants won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2006 and th ...

. He was let go 11 games into his third season after the team's terrible start. Fricker was only gone from the Giants for a short time and he was brought back to his former post when there was no sign of improvement from the team's two starters. He continues to serve in that capacity as of 2021.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fricker, Paul 1960 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Binghamton Whalers players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Hartford Whalers draft picks Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Oklahoma City Stars players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Ice hockey people from Toronto Victoria Cougars (WHL) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen