Playing career

Fritsche began his junior hockey career with his hometown Cleveland Barons of the North American Hockey League. He then played for the Sarnia Sting and the London Knights, and won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship, playing for the United States. He won a Memorial Cup playing for the Knights in 2005. He also played youth hockey for the Parma Flyers and is one of three players to go into the NHL from there. The other two players are Brian Holzinger and Michael Rupp.

Ranked in the top ten in nearly every pre-draft report, but shoulder concerns scared teams away, the Columbus Blue Jackets got a steal when Fritsche was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, 46th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets. After playing for parts of four seasons with the Blue Jackets, Fritsche was traded along with Nikolai Zherdev to the New York Rangers on July 2, 2008 for defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Bäckman.

On January 29, 2009, Fritsche was traded by the Rangers to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Erik Reitz. After finishing the season with the Wild, Fritsche was not tendered a qualifying offer and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009.

On September 3, 2009, Fritsche was invited to the Atlanta Thrashers training camp for the 2009-10 season, but was not offered a contract. On October 5, 2009, he returned to the Blue Jackets organization by signing a contract with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch.

In 2010, Fritsche began playing in Switzerland's National League A for Geneve-Servette HC (GSHC).

In January 2013, he signed a three-year contract with the HC Lugano that extended him with the team through 2016. However, on November 29, 2013, Fritsche was traded to ZSC Lions, who were coached by Marc Crawford. Zurich won the 2013-14 NLA championship and Fritsche played a pivotal role in scoring four point in four games during the finals.

National team

Fritsche won gold with the US national team at the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and also represented the country at the 2005 WJC. He made his debut on the Swiss Men's National Team in December 2014. According to IIHF rules, he had to play four years in Switzerland before being eligible to represent Switzerland.

Personal life

His great-grandparents emigrated from Appenzell, Switzerland, to the United States.

His younger brother, Tom, was a prospect in the Colorado Avalanche system. He was drafted 47th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. His career was cut short due to concussion. His cousin, John, plays for Fribourg-Gottéron. His uncle, John Fritsche Sr., was a longtime player in Switzerland for HC Ambri-Piotta, HC Lugano and EV Zug, played for the United States at the 1990 World Hockey Championship, and coached the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000-01	Cleveland Jr. Barons	NAHL		49	23	29	52	47		1	1	1	2	0
2001-02	Sarnia Sting	OHL		17	5	13	18	20		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Sarnia Sting	OHL		61	32	39	71	79		5	2	2	4	4
2003-04	Sarnia Sting	OHL		27	16	13	29	26		5	1	5	6	0
2003-04	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		19	1	0	1	12		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		4	2	0	2	0		4	0	1	1	4
2004-05	Sarnia Sting	OHL		2	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004-05	London Knights	OHL		28	17	18	35	18		17	9	13	22	12
2005-06	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		59	6	7	13	22		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		19	5	4	9	12		6	2	2	4	8
2006-07	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		59	12	15	27	35		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		69	10	12	22	22		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	New York Rangers	NHL		16	1	3	4	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Minnesota Wild	NHL		34	4	5	9	10		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		67	13	29	42	12		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Genève-Servette HC	NLA		39	15	18	33	66		—	—	—	—	—
2011-12	Genève-Servette HC	NLA		14	1	1	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Genève-Servette HC	NLA		43	16	16	32	18		7	2	3	5	2
2013-14	HC Lugano	NLA		12	1	3	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013-14	ZSC Lions	NLA		22	6	7	13	6		18	2	3	5	10
2014-15	ZSC Lions	NLA		46	9	11	20	10		3	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				256	34	42	76	103		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	United States	WJC	01 !		6	2	2	4	4
2005	United States	WJC	4th		7	3	4	7	22
Junior totals					13	5	6	11	26

[ Source: Wikipedia ]