Big Time Dreams, Big Time Vision
NHL defenseman Mark Fraser heads into his second full season with New Jersey sporting a new contract and vision that exceeds 20/20.
By David Napier
Mark Fraser is a smiling contradiction: a tough, NHL athlete who speaks so softly that he can barely be heard over the afternoon din of a Westboro coffee-shop.
Clad in a grey faded t-shirt and casual shorts, the 24-year-old New Jersey Devils defenseman laughs when I point out the irony that a recent Google search for the second-year player on a perennial Stanley Cup-contending team turns up basic stats and a few pics (as well as YouTube footage of one particularly long on-ice fight) but nothing in terms of good newspaper or magazine articles.
“I kind of fly under the radar,” says Fraser. “I like it that way.”
Indeed, the Ottawa native has succeeded in spite of, rather than because of, the spotlight. It has been that way since Fraser was a kid. As a youngster playing minor hockey, he was often relegated to teams competing a level below those on which his pals played. Then, as a junior player, he charted his own course. And as a professional, he made a foray into the NHL four years ago, but lasted for half a cup of coffee before being sent back to the AHL to refine his skills and add some bulk to his 6-foot, 3-inch frame.
He did both. His reward: a first full season in which he played 61 games and earned the $500,000, followed by a second-year contract for the same amount in exchange for his deft puck handling and willingness to drop the gloves when required.
Fraser’s reputation is taking shape: hockey insiders refer to him as a smart, stand-up defenseman with a potentially lengthy career ahead. The Devil’s coach and General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, has questioned whether Fraser can become a star player, but Fraser doesn’t mind: he has made a career out of beating odds and impressing coaches.
Hard work got him to the NHL and hard work — along with improved vision, thanks to Focus Eye Centre — will keep him in The Show.
After a brief summertime chat at Bridgehead, Fraser makes his way to his second work-out of the day. This time he’s off to a local boxing gym where he and a fellow NHL player are learning the ‘sweet science of bruising’. It’s good to know how to take a punch as well as give one, explains Fraser, adding that boxing improves both balance and endurance.
Looking at him — Fraser’s sinewy-strong, 215-pound physique calls to mind a cobra at rest — it’s hard to believe this handsome kid, with the scar-free face needs to add any more weapons to his arsenal. But that is just what he is doing with boxing, and what he did when he opted for an off-season PRK with Wavefront procedure.
“I’m already seeing things more clearly,” reported Fraser, just two weeks after his wavefront-guided PRK procedure with Dr. David Edmison. “There’s a large difference in my vision on the ice.”
“It definitely helps in every aspect [of the game], whether it’s chasing a little puck around or just being able to see where everyone is in an environment where everything is constantly moving, constantly changing.”
Fraser says his decision to have Laser Vision Correction was not one fraught with hesitation or concern. Why? Because he was keen to rid himself of the contact lenses that made long, late-night flights between NHL cities a dry-eyed, irritating hassle. It helped that he had family and friends who’d undergone their own LVC procedures and were very satisfied with their results.
“Both my parents had it done… as well as a lot of my teammates,” says Fraser, who admits that he “definitely had some [high] expectations going in.”
“To be honest, I think they were pretty well met. The difference from where I was before to where I am now is night and day. Things are definitely sharper. I’m definitely very pleased.”
At press time, the New Jersey Devils were still at training camp and the ink on Fraser’s new contract was hardly dry, but the hometown kid (who calls Hoboken, N.J., home duringthe regular season) was thrilled.
After years of hard work, he has secured a place on the Devil’s blue-line, and is playing with better than 20/20 vision.
“It’s a game where things happen so quickly [that] you can’t afford to be behind, and your vision is a large part of that,” Fraser explains.
“I definitely encourage a lot of people — whether they are athletes or not — to have LVC. Focus has done a great job.”