Cameron Crotty (born May 5, 1999) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was drafted by the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

of the NHL 82nd overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Crotty played with the

Brockville Braves The Brockville Braves (French: Braves de Brockville) are a Junior A ice hockey team based in Brockville. The Braves compete in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) as a member of the West Division. The Braves have won two Bogart Cup championsh ...

of the

Central Canada Hockey League The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL; French: ''Ligue de hockey du Canada centrale'', LHCC) is a Junior A ice hockey league in North America composed of 12 teams – all around the National Capital Region. The CCHL is one of the nine Junior ...

(CCHL) between 2015 and 2017. He won the CCHL Top Prospect Award following the 2016–17 CCHL season. He then joined the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's Varsity team, varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot ...

in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

. At the end of his first season with the Terriers, Crotty was named to Hockey East's All-Academic Team. He won the Hockey East Conference Championship with the Terries that season. In his final season with Boston University, Crotty was named one of the team's

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

s. Crotty was selected by the

of the

(NHL) in the third round, 82nd overall, in the 2017 NHL entry draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Coyotes on April 9, 2020. However, due to the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

, a gap opened up from the end of his college career and the beginning of his professional one. In an effort to get game time, Crotty joined

Sparta Sarpsborg Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Sarpsborg, Norway. They currently play in EliteHockey Ligaen. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi arena and is Norway's oldest ice hockey rink. The team colours a ...

of Norway's

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

, playing his first game on November 12, 2020. He returned to North America for the beginning of training camp. Crotty was assigned to the Coyotes

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

to begin his professional career. He returned to the AHL for the 2021–22 season. During the 2022–23 season, Crotty played in 64 games with the Roadrunners, registering 13 points. A

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

at the end of his deal with Arizona, he was not given a qualifying offer and became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. However, he re-signed with Arizona on June 30, 2023, to a one-year, two-way contract. He began the 2023–24 season with Tucson but was recalled by Arizona on an emergency basis due to Josh Brown suffering an illness in March 2024. He made his NHL debut for the Coyotes on March 24 in a 5–2 loss to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

. He played in just the one game and finished the season with Tucson, playing in 55 games, scoring 3 goals and 13 points. An unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, Crotty signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

on July 1, 2024. After going unclaimed on waivers, Crotty was assigned to Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

, for the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crotty, Cameron Living people 1999 births Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Iowa Wild players Minnesota Wild players Sparta Sarpsborg players Tucson Roadrunners players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen