Nathan Craze (born 26 November 1986 in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

) is a Welsh 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 ...

netminder who is the current Goaltending and Video Coach for the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at Kia Center (formerly Amway Center) in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa ...

. He played in the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

for the

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils () are a Welsh professional ice hockey team who play in the UK-based Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The team plays at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay, currently known as ''Vindico Arena'' for sponsorship reasons. Cardiff' ...

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...

and the

Edinburgh Capitals The Edinburgh Capitals are a Scottish ice hockey club, playing in the Scottish National League (SNL). They are based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The team play at the Murrayfield Ice Rink, close to Murrayfield Rugby stadium. In Apr ...

. He also played for the Great Britain Under-18 and Under-20 national team as well as one game for the main national team.

Playing career

Craze began his career with the

before joining the Belfast Giants in 2005. He had an impressive start with the Belfast Giants in the 2005–06 season, originally called up when both Belfast's goalies became injured. As a replacement

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

he proved himself as one of the most promising young

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

goaltenders. On his debut for Giants in October 2005, shortly before his 19th birthday, he faced 132 shots in three games but conceded only eleven goals as Giants earned two wins and a draw. Craze played in only 12 games for the Giants in regular season chalking up a save percentage of 92.8. In the same year he won a gold medal with the Great Britain U-20's in the World Championships Div II Group A in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and was also named Netminder of the Tournament. He received the International Ice Hockey Federation Directorate's Award of the tournament's Best Netminder when GB won the gold medal in the 2004 World under-18 Championships (Div II) in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and he equalled the feat by being voted the IIHF's tournament Best Netminder when GB won the gold medal in the 2006 World under-20 Championships (Div II) in Romania. In 2006, Craze signed with the

Bracknell Bees The Berkshire Bees are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, un ...

as their starting goalie, winning the double-

English Premier Ice Hockey League The English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) was an ice hockey league of 10 teams, all of which were based in England. Headquartered in Blackpool, the EPIHL was one of two professional ice hockey leagues in the United Kingdom (the other being ...

and Playoff title in his first season. The 2007–2008 season saw Craze signed with the

Swindon Wildcats The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre i ...

of the same league, again serving as their starting goalie. From 2008 to 2011, Craze continued to re-sign for the Belfast Giants, backing up fellow Welshman Stevie Lyle, and

Scot Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

Stephen Murphy. Craze was selected as backup goalie for the 2011 Div 1 World Championships in Kiev, coming on in the Estonia game and maintaining a 7-0 shut-out with Stephen Murphy. In the pre championships Craze played in his first full international against the Netherlands winning with a score of 5–2. In 2011, Craze signed for the

, earning himself his first starting role in the Elite Ice Hockey League. It would turn out to be his last season as an active player as he returned to the Belfast Giants the next season to take up a role as goaltending coach for their Scottish National League development team as well as their Under-18 team. He would then become goaltending coach for Great Britain,

Milton Keynes Lightning The Milton Keynes Lightning are an ice hockey team founded in 2002 and then again in 2019 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The Lightning (2nd franchise) currently play in Britain's second-tier professional league, the National Ice Hockey Leag ...

Coventry Blaze The Coventry Blaze are a British professional ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the original '' ...

and the

Hull Pirates The Hull Seahawks are an ice hockey team based in Kingston upon Hull and their home ice is the Hull Arena. They compete in the NIHL National Division. Formation The Hull Pirates were formed when the Hull Stingrays went into liquidation in ...

where he was an assistant coach also.

Awards

*2003–2004 U18 WJC (D2, B) Gold Medal *2005–2006 – Vic Batchelder Memorial Trophy *2005–2006 EIHL Champion *U20 WJC (D2, A) Gold Medal *2006–2007 EIHA League Champions *2006–2007 EIHA Play-off Champions *2008–2009 EIHL Challenge Cup Champion *2009–2010 EIHL Playoff Champion *2010–2011 World Championship (D1, B) Silver Medal

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craze, Nathan 1986 births Living people Belfast Giants players Bracknell Bees players Cardiff Devils players People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun Sportspeople from Merthyr Tydfil Swindon Wildcats players Welsh ice hockey goaltenders