Fraser’s long road back about to end

Life has a funny way of coming full-circle sometimes. Colin Fraser last dressed for an NHL game on March 29, as a member of the Edmonton Oilers against the Kings. Fraser suffered a broken foot, missed the rest of the season, got traded, became the focal point of a Kings-Oilers dispute and missed the first 15 games of this season as he recovered from foot surgery. Six-plus months later, Fraser will be back in the NHL tomorrow night, as he plays for the Kings against Vancouver.

FRASER: “It’s been a long road. If you date it back to when the injury first happened, last March, it feels like a really long time. But I’m really excited to maybe prove myself and prove what I’ve got, and hopefully I can stay in the lineup and bring some energy and bring something different to the team.’’

Question: You’ve just been skating and practicing, every day, since training camp. How hard has it been?

FRASER: “It’s been hard. With that being said, you’ve got to be a team guy. You can only carry 23 guys, and at the end of the day, we’ve got a good team here, a good group of guys. You never wish ill will upon anyone else, or anything selfish like that. But when you get your opportunity, you’ve got to take advantage of it and hopefully earn a job, a regular spot in the lineup.’’

Question: What should fans expect to see in your game?

FRASER: “I think a lot of energy. I’ll try to get in on the forecheck, and just good, quality minutes, doing little things. I’m not going to go out there and go end to end and go backhand top shelf or anything fancy like that, like Kopi or something. Very simple, not a lot of mistakes and just try to put in some quality minutes.’’