John Craighead (born November 23, 1971) is an American former professional

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and enforcer. He played for 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 ...

during 1996–97 season, and for various

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teams in North America and Europe from 1997 to 2005. He holds 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 ...

record for penalty minutes for the

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Career statistics

Post-retirement

On September 24, 2015, as Head Coach and part-owner of the then-Langley Knights, a Junior B team in the PJHL, an altercation behind the opposing Mission City Outlaws bench resulted in Craighead being suspended for six years by governing body BC Hockey.

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

later reduced Craighead's suspension to two years as owner, and three years as coach. During the incident, Craighead entered the Mission City Outlaws bench to confront its coach during a

bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, where most or all players on both teams leave their Dugout (baseball), dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in or ...

. Craighead claimed that he was attempting to de-escalate the situation. A Mission City Outlaws player claimed that he was assaulted by Craighead while trying to separate the coaches. The Mission City Outlaws coach was issued a ten-game suspension and his team was fined . Players on both teams received multi-game suspensions. Craighead returned as Head Coach in the 2018-2019 season after

reduced his suspension to three years. Following the decision from

, the PJHL initiated proceedings to expel the Craighead's team from the league. Craighead successfully petitioned the BC Supreme Court to order PJHL to cease its disciplinary proceedings and take no further action against the team and its owners. The decision was later upheld by the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. On March 3, 2023, Craighead was involved in an altercation with a referee while playing

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hockey. The referee alleged that Craighead assaulted him; first as he was attempting to break up a

fight Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

between Craighead and another player, then Craighead allegedly followed the referee to his dressing room where he punched him in the face and pulled his jersey over his head. Craighead stated that these claims were “a defamation of character, propaganda, and are being made because of his race.”

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craighead, John 1971 births Living people Black Canadian ice hockey players Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England American expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of American descent Cardiff Devils players Chilliwack Chiefs players Huntington Blizzard players Johnstown Chiefs players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ladner Penguins players Louisville Icehawks players Manitoba Moose players Motor City Mustangs players Nottingham Panthers players Nürnberg Ice Tigers players Revier Löwen players Richmond Renegades players Ice hockey people from Vancouver Sunshine Hockey League players Surrey Eagles players Toronto Maple Leafs players Undrafted National Hockey League players Sportspeople from Richmond, Virginia Ice hockey people from Virginia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany American expatriate ice hockey players in Wales American expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian inline hockey players American inline hockey players

Career statistics

Post-retirement

See also

References

External links