| Ryan Craig | |
| Birth Date: | 6 January 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 221 |
| Position: | Centre |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Played For: | Tampa Bay Lightning Pittsburgh Penguins Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Draft: | 255th overall |
| Draft Year: | 2002 |
| Draft Team: | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Career Start: | 2003 |
| Career End: | 2017 |
Ryan F. Craig (born January 6, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and current head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights of the American 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.
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]
Craig served as an assistant coach for Vegas since the team's first season, and had served as an assistant coach for the team's first 6 seasons and for all three of Vegas' head coaches up to 2023 (Gerard Gallant, Peter DeBoer, and Bruce Cassidy). He won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Nearly 2 weeks after winning the Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023, Craig was appointed as the head coach of Vegas' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, on June 26, 2023.[7]
Craig is married to Jaydee, who grew up in Souris, Manitoba. They have a son named Carson and two daughters.[8] [9]
| Team | League | GP | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 711 | 172 | 188 | 360 | 554 | 54 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 33 | ||||
| NHL totals | 198 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 148 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | ||||
| 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) | 2015-16 | [10] | |
| NHL | |||
| Stanley Cup (Vegas Golden Knights) | 2022-23 | ||