John Fletcher (ice hockey)

John Fletcher
Fletcher at Clarkson in 1987
Born (1967-10-14) October 14, 1967 (age 57)
Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Clarkson
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Cincinnati Cyclones
Nashville Knights
Knoxville Cherokees
Johnstown Chiefs
NHL draft 192nd, 1987
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1986–1992
Coaching career
Biographical details
Alma materClarkson
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1996Dartmouth (assistant)
1996–1997Bowling Green (assistant)
1999–2002Nebraska–Omaha (assistant)

John Fletcher is an American former ice hockey goaltender and coach who was an All-American for Clarkson.[1]

Career

Fletcher was an instant hit for Clarkson, taking over the starting role as a freshman. He recorded 4 shutouts and was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year.[2] The team in front of him was average at best and finished in the middle of the conference, losing in the first round of the ECAC Tournament, but that didn't stop Fletcher from being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks after the season. Fletcher was just as good the following year and was named an All-American. He backstopped the Golden Knights to an upset win over top-seeded Harvard in the conference semifinals and was named as the top goalie of the tournament.

After new head coach Mark Morris arrived in 1988, Fletcher saw his numbers worsen and his time in goal was reduced. Despite this, Clarkson finished 4th in the conference, their best result to date with Fletcher.[3] Unfortunately, the team couldn't use home ice to its advantage and lost in the first round. Fletcher rebounded as a senior and won 20 games, getting the Golden Knights into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. Clarkson was easily dispatched by Minnesota and Fletcher's college career came to a close.

After graduating, Fletcher played two seasons of professional hockey but he found little success. He played exclusively at the ECHL level and ended up with 5 different teams in that span. He finally began to produce good numbers in his last stop with the Johnstown Chiefs, but it wasn't enough to keep him in the game and he retired in 1992.

Fletcher tried his hand at coaching next, serving as an assistant at several colleges over an 8-year span. In his final stop with Nebraska–Omaha, Fletcher also worked as an HVAC Comfort Advisor. He retired from coaching in 2002 and became a sales manager, working for several companies over the next 15 years. In 2018, Fletcher became a sales director for EyeGuide, a position he holds as of 2021.[4]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1986–87 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 23 11 8 1 1240 62 4 3.00 .907 — — — — — — — —
1987–88 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 33 16 11 3 1820 97 1 3.20 .908 — — — — — — — —
1988–89 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 23 9 8 2 1147 79 0 4.14 .886 — — — — — — — —
1989–90 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 34 20 11 3 1900 99 0 3.13 .907 — — — — — — — —
1990–91 Winston-Salem Thunderbirds ECHL 11 0 8 0 534 57 0 6.40 .858 — — — — — — — —
1990–91 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 14 3 8 1 783 71 0 5.44 .844 — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Nashville Knights ECHL 11 3 7 1 583 54 0 5.56 .872 — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Knoxville Cherokees ECHL 2 0 1 0 79 10 0 7.59 .756 — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL 6 3 2 0 318 13 0 2.45 .924 — — — — — — — —
NCAA totals 113 56 38 9 6107 337 5 3.31 .904 — — — — — — — —
ECHL totals 44 9 26 2 2297 205 0 5.35 .863 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1987–88 [5]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1987–88 [1]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 1988 [6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "CLARKSON Hockey Alumni - JOHN FLETCHER". Clarkson Golden Knights. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "Clarkson Men's Hockey 2017-18 Media Guide". Clarkson Golden Knights. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  4. ^ "John Fletcher". Linked In. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "Men's All-Tournament Teams" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year
1986–87 		Succeeded by