Thrashers Make Fraser Coach

July 13, 1999 / 6:24 PM EDT / AP

Ted Nolan and Ron Low had NHL coaching credentials. But Curt Fraser had the inside track with the man who was doing the hiring for the Atlanta Thrashers.

The NHL's newest team introduced Fraser as its first coach Wednesday, picking a 41-year-old who had great success in the minor leagues but has never coached at the highest level.

"When you hire someone you've known previously, you're over the first hurdle," said Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, who picked Fraser over Nolan and Low. "I know what he's capable of and he knows what I'm capable of."

Fraser and Waddell have been close friends since they teamed up in 1995 to build an International Hockey League expansion franchise in Orlando. The Solar Bears reached the league finals in their first season.

Waddell left after two years in Orlando to take a job with the Detroit Red Wings, then moved on to the Thrashers. Fraser remained behind to coach the Solar Bears, leading them to the IHL finals again this past season.

"The four years I had in the 'I' trained me well," said Fraser, who had a 192-111-25 record in Orlando, the league's second-best mark during that span. "I'm prepared for the moment."

Waddell waited until just 80 days before the team's first game to hire a coach, paring the list of candidates to three finalists.

Nolan was a coach of the year with the Buffalo Sabres, Low coached the Edmonton Oilers for 4@1/2 years, but Fraser wound up getting the job.

Waddell spent last weekend mulling his choice, making sure in his own mind that he wasn't hiring Fraser simply because of their personal relationship.

"Is he the best guy? Is Ron Low the best guy? Is Ted Nolan the best guy," Waddell asked himself. "Honestly, I came to the decision that Curt was the guy."

Fraser was a feisty, aggressive left-winger during a 12-year NHL career, scoring 193 goals and racking up 1,306 penalty minutes while playing for Vancouver, Chicago and Minnesota. He still chuckles at the thought of his on-ice battles with former Atlanta Flames tough guy Willi Plett.

"I spent 12 years in the NHL," Fraser said. "I know the league. I know the players. I know how they feel."

As soon as his playing career ended in 1990, he began plotting his return to the NHL as a coach.

"I didn't care if it took me two years, 10 years or 15 years," Fraser said, "that's what I wanted to do."

He spent four years with the IHL's Milwaukee Admirals two as an assistant coach, two as a head coach. After one season with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, he joined Waddell in Orlando.

Over the next four years, the Solar Bears won eight of 12 playoff series and had a 17-4 record in playoff elimination games. This past season, they became the first team in the IHL's 54-year history to rally from an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-7 series, beating Detroit in the Eastern Cnference finals before losing to Houston 4-3 in the Turner Cup finals.

"I think my strength as a coach is being very resilient," Fraser said. "I'm good at refocusing my teams. All of my teams have responded well to being down and out."

Waddell initially wanted to hire a coach with NHL experience, but he began to change his mind as he watched Ken Hitchcock who formerly coached in the IHL guide the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup.

"When I closed the process, I was eliminating some good people," Waddell said. "We were looking for someone to grow with the program. When you get someone who's been coaching a long time, they can get set in their ways. This team is going to change a lot over the next couple of years."

Fraser, who signed a three-year contract, takes over a team that figures to struggle for at least a couple of seasons particularly at the offensive end of the ice. Still, he vowed the Thrashers won't be trying to win every game 1-0.

"Do we want to sit back and be a defensive team? No," Fraser said. "This team is going to be very aggressive. It's going to be a team the fans will enjoy coming out to see."