Topic: Dan Fritsche

Dan Fritsche (born July 13, 1985 in Parma, Ohio) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He played junior hockey 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 playes to go into the NHL from there. The other two player are Brian Holzinger and Michael Rupp.

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. Fritsche has been a frequent healthy scratch in his first season with the Rangers due to the general healthiness of the team after Fritsche did not have a spot in the opening night lineup.