Ryan Craig
Ryan F. Craig (born January 6, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and current assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. Prior to retirement, he was the captain of the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL). Craig was drafted 255th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
| Ryan Craig | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg.webp) | |||
| Born |
January 6, 1982 Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 221 lb (100 kg; 15 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Tampa Bay Lightning Pittsburgh Penguins Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| NHL Draft |
255th overall, 2002 Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Playing career | 2003–2017 | ||
Playing career
As a youth, Craig played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Abbotsford, British Columbia.[1]
Craig started his junior ice hockey career with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League and made his debut by appearing in one game in the 1997–98 season as a 16-year-old. In the 2000–01 season, Craig led Brandon in scoring and was named the team MVP the following year. Serving as a captain in his final two seasons in the WHL, Craig tied for the lead in scoring in the 2002–03 season, and ranked sixth in the WHL in goals, first in game-winning goals (11) and tied for eighth in power play goals.
After spending his first seven professional seasons within the Lightning organization, on July 3, 2010, Craig signed as a free agent to a two-way, 1-year $500,000 contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. On June 13, 2011, Craig re-signed with the Penguins for one year.[2]
After captaining the Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins, for two seasons, Craig left the Penguins' organization. Unable to earn an NHL deal, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Falcons on July 19, 2012.[3]
Craig was selected as the Falcons' captain in his first season with the club, in 2012–13. He scored 20 goals and 47 points in 75 games to help Springfield reach the second round of the post-season. On July 5, 2013, Craig was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Falcons' NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets.[4]
On June 29, 2015, Craig continued his affiliation with the Blue Jackets, by signing a two-year contract with their new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.[5] In his first season with the Monsters in 2015–16, Craig led the team as Captain in capturing their first Calder Cup championship.
He was announced as an assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights expansion team on June 9, 2017 and simultaneously retired from his playing career.[6]
Personal life
Craig is married to Jaydee, who grew up in Souris, Manitoba. They have a son and two daughters.[7][8]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 54 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 65 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 70 | 38 | 33 | 71 | 49 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 52 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 52 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 13 | ||
| 2002–03 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 60 | 42 | 32 | 74 | 69 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 29 | ||
| 2003–04 | Pensacola Ice Pilots | ECHL | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 61 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 80 | 27 | 14 | 41 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 28 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 48 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2006–07 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 72 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 55 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 54 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 73 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 71 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 84 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 68 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 70 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 75 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 71 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 55 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 52 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 67 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 60 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 38 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 8 | ||
| 2016–17 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 71 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 198 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 148 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Awards | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| East First All-Star Team | 2002–03 | |
| Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy | 2002–03 | |
| CHL Humanitarian of the Year Award | 2002–03 | |
| AHL | ||
| Calder Cup (Lake Erie Monsters) | 2016 | [9] |
References
- "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- "Penguins sign Ryan Craig". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 3, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- "Falcons Veteran Center, Former Falcon Captain Craig Returns to Springfield". Our Sports Central. July 19, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- "Blue Jackets sign Ryan Craig, Jeremy Smith and Cody Bass to two-way contracts". Columbus Blue Jackets. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- "Craig, Vogelhuber, Ambroz and Yevenko signed for 2015-16". Lake Erie Monsters. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- "Vegas Golden Knights Name Ryan Craig Assistant Coach". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- "Lightning news and notes". Tampa Bay Lightning. April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
- "Parrish propels Admirals to fourth straight victory". Norfolk Admirals. January 27, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- Brown, Tony (June 12, 2016). "Bjorkstrand's OT goal clinches Monsters' first-ever Calder Cup championship". Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brandin Cote |
Winner of the CHL Humanitarian of the Year Award 2003 |
Succeeded by Chris Campoli |
| Preceded by Brandin Cote |
Winner of the WHL Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy 2003 |
Succeeded by Braydon Coburn |
| Preceded by Wyatt Smith |
Captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2010-12 |
Succeeded by Joey Mormina |