Cory Cross (born January 3, 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former 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 ...

, who played twelve seasons in 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).

Draft

Cross was selected by the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

first overall in the 1992 NHL Supplemental Draft.

Playing career

After being drafted first overall in the 1992 Supplemental Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Cross went on to spend 12 NHL seasons with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He was a physically imposing player with a powerful shot. After getting recruited from his hockey class at the University of Alberta, Cross spent three seasons with the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, during which time they won three Canada West championships and one national championship in 1992. Cross made his professional debut with the Atlanta Knights of the IHL in the 1993-1994 season. The Knights won the Turner Cup championship, only losing 2 games in the playoffs. He was called up to the parent club Tampa Bay Lightning for the last five games of the 93-94 season. Despite making the Lightning after the 94-95 exhibition season, he returned to the Knights during the NHL lockout. At the end of the lockout, Cross was called up to the Lightning for the remainder of the season. After spending five full seasons in Tampa Bay, Cross, along with a seventh-round draft pick, was dealt in the off-season to the

in exchange for Fredrik Modin. Cross scored one of the biggest goals of his career on April 16, 2001, when he potted the overtime game-winning goal for Toronto over the Ottawa Senators in Game 3 in the first round of the 2001 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on the way to an upset sweep of the number-two seeded Senators. After three relatively good seasons with the Leafs, Cross was signed as 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 ...

by the

. Cross played only 26 games in New York before being traded again, this time along with Radek Dvorak to the

in exchange for

Anson Carter Anson Horace “Ace” Carter (born June 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eight teams from 1996 to 2007, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and ...

and Ales Pisa. Cross played 113 games for Edmonton before being traded along with

Jani Rita Jani Markus Rita (born July 25, 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger who last played with Jokerit of the Russian KHL, for whom he played most of his career. Playing career Despite limited NHL experience, Rita has played extens ...

to the

for Dick Tarnstrom. On March 9, 2006, Cross was traded from the Penguins to the

for a fourth-round draft pick in 2007. Cross signed with the

Hamburg Freezers The Hamburg Freezers were a professional men's ice hockey club from Hamburg, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club announced its withdrawal from the DEL and ceased operations on 24 May 2016 when Anschutz Entertainment Group, ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...

in July 2006. Cross played one season with Hamburg and formally retired as an active player in September 2009.

International play

Cross was a member of Team Canada at three World Championships (1997, 1998, 2003), winning gold in 1997 and 2003.

Coaching career

On September 27, 2009, the

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venues ...

' head hockey coach Mark Howell announced that Cross would be an assistant head coach along with former NHL player Brad Isbister. In 2016, Cross was an assistant coach with the

West Kelowna Warriors The West Kelowna Warriors are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and play in the Interior Conference. The West Kelowna Warriors are a relocated ...

, when they won the 2016 RBC Cup.

Personal life

Cross was born in

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administra ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Cory 1971 births Living people Alberta Golden Bears ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers players Hamburg Freezers players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Alberta NHL supplemental draft picks New York Rangers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Ice hockey people from Lloydminster Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canada West ice hockey players