Rory Fitzpatrick

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
team= Florida Panthers
former_teams = Philadelphia Flyers
Vancouver Canucks
Buffalo Sabres
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
position = Defense
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 208
nickname =
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1975|1|11
birth_place = Rochester, NY, USA
draft = 47th overall
draft_year = 1993
draft_team = Montreal Canadiens
career_start = 1995

Rory Fitzpatrick (born January 11, 1975 in Rochester, New York) is a professional ice hockey defenseman with the Florida Panthers. He spent his junior career in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves, and was selected in the second round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, 47th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens. He has become a journeyman depth player at the NHL level.

Playing career

Montreal and St. Louis

After completing his junior eligibility, Fitzpatrick made his professional debut in the AHL, although he eventually joined the Canadiens and played 42 games. Just six games into the following season, however, Fitzpatrick was dealt to St. Louis in the blockbuster Pierre Turgeon trade, where he played a pair of games before being shipped down to the minors. After that demotion, Fitzpatrick would only play one more game in a Blues uniform, spending the bulk of his time in the minor leagues before finally being traded to the Nashville Predators.

Nashville and Edmonton

Fitzpatrick's luck didn't improve with the Predators, one of the NHL's newest expansion teams, and he was sent to Edmonton after only two games. In Edmonton, he spent time as a healthy scratch, but never actually saw NHL icetime. He was, however, a reliable offensive threat with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Buffalo

Following the 2000–01 NHL season, Fitzpatrick became an unrestricted free agent. Signing with the Buffalo Sabres as a depth defenseman, Fitzpatrick spent the majority of 2001–02 with his hometown team, the Rochester Americans of the AHL, although he did play five games with the Sabres. This gave him an opportunity to be reunited with former junior teammate Jay McKee.

In 2002–03, Fitzpatrick again started the year in Rochester. However, he was recalled four times by Buffalo, and the last time, on February 12, he stayed with the team, and spent the entire 2003–04 with them. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff played him in all situations- evenstrength, on the power play and short-handed. A knee injury prematurely ended Fitzpatrick's season.

In July of 2004, Fitzpatrick filed for salary arbitration, but was able to reach a deal with the Sabres before the hearing. During the NHL lockout, he spent his time doing odd jobs before signing with Rochester for the final twenty games. He also played with the Original Stars Hockey League before its collapse, and worked at a hockey clinic.

Florida/Rochester

In 2008, Rory's former AHL club, the Rochester Americans (Also his hometown.) requested that now sole parent club, the Florida Panthers, provide the Amerks with more veteran players to aide prospects, and put together a winning team. The Panthers responded by signing fan-favorite Rory Fitzpatrick, and plan to have him lead the way for Rochester's defense.

2007 All-Star Game vote

Despite having zero points in 18 games for the Canucks, Fitzpatrick finished third in All-Star Game voting for defensemen in the Western Conference with 550,177 votes, falling 23,000 votes shy of second place Nicklas Lidström, winner of 4 Norris Trophies and 3 Stanley Cups. [ [http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=287061 NHL All-Star Vote Results, January 10, 2007] , NHL.com, accessed January 10, 2007]

The idea was to use the new NHL procedure, where people were encouraged to vote as often as they liked, to have an unlikely candidate chosen. Contributors to this goal sent the idea across the Internet in the hopes of having Fitzpatrick voted in as one of the two starting defensemen for the Western Conference. [Mirtle, James, [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061130.WBhockeyblog20061130141641/WBStory/WBhockeyblog/ The 'Vote for Rory' campaign gains steam] , Globe and Mail online, November 30, 2006] They also created several videos on Youtube as a way to spread news. A website, [http://www.voteforrory.com www.voteforrory.com] , was created as well. [Colleluori, Chris, [http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/11/30/news/sports/sports03.txt Schmid creating a star in NHL] , Auburn Citizen, November 30, 2006] Rory peaked in balloting at the number 2 position, before eventually being bumped from participation in the game to third place.

The plot was originally conceived as a humorous campaign designed to show the flaws in the NHL voting system. The logic was that if enough people voted for an unlikely player to start the game, the league would change its system. After some time, the plan metamorphosed for many into a more symbolic gesture. [Wyshynski, Greg, [http://www.thefourthperiod.com/columnists/wyshynski061202.html The Rory Details] , The Fourth Period, December 2, 2006]

For his part, Fitzpatrick — who never actively supported the campaign beyond donning a T-shirt at the request of photographers — stated that he had gotten a kick out of the movement and acknowledged the hard work that his supporters had put into it. [Botchford, Jason, [http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=1228bdb5-0a91-4707-9ab0-bb932b3135cb Grassroots Groundswell] , Vancouver Province, December 1, 2006] Fitzpatrick's teammates were also supportive, with several voicing their intention to vote, and wearing customized "Vote for Rory" T-shirts at a team practice. [Vancouver Canucks, [http://www.canucks.com/view_archive.asp?sectionID=5&id=1763 Time to Vote] , The Insider, December 1, 2006]

The final voting results on January 13, 2007 saw Rory finish in third place behind Scott Niedermayer and Nicklas Lidstrom, meaning he did not start in the All-Star game. "Slate" found the final results suspicious due to unlikely numerical coincidences in the final week of voting, and believed that the NHL altered the vote counts. [Engber, Daniel, [http://www.slate.com/id/2157741/ Rorygate - The NHL's All-Star voting disaster: A Slate investigation] , Slate, January 18, 2007]

Transactions

*June 26, 1993 - Fitzpatrick drafted by Montreal
*October 29, 1996 - Montreal trades Fitzpatrick, Pierre Turgeon and Craig Conroy to St. Louis for Shayne Corson, Murray Baron and a 5th round draft pick (Gennady Razin)
*October 5, 1998 - Boston claims Fitzpatrick off waivers from St. Louis
*October 7, 1998 - St. Louis claims Fitzpatrick off waivers from Boston
*February 9, 2000 - St. Louis trades Fitzpatrick to Nashville for Dan Keczmer
*January 12, 2001 - Nashville trades Fitzpatrick to Edmonton for future considerations
*August 14, 2001 - Buffalo signs Fitzpatrick
*August 17, 2006 - Vancouver signs Fitzpatrick
*September 14, 2007 - Philadelphia invites Fitzpatrick to training camp.
*January 3, 2008 - Philadelphia places Fitzpatrick on waivers

Career statistics

References

External links

*hockeydb|10170
* [http://www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/lunchpailers/fitzpatrick122203.html NHL.com article on Fitzpatrick]