Ryan F. Craig (born January 6, 1982) 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and current head coach of the

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Lee ...

of the

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 ...

. Prior to retirement, he was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage F ...

in the

(AHL). Craig was drafted 255th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft 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 ...

Playing career

As a youth, Craig played in the 1996

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...

. Craig started his

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

career with the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

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 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 ...

. On June 13, 2011, Craig re-signed with the Penguins for one year. 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 The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

on July 19, 2012. Craig was selected as the Falcons' captain in his first season with the club, in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. 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 The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. 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 A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

. In his first season with the Monsters in 2015–16, Craig led the team as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in capturing their first

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

championship. He was announced as an assistant coach with the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

expansion team on June 9, 2017 and simultaneously retired from his playing career. 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 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(

Gerard Gallant Gerard Gallant (born September 2, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously served as the head coach for the Columbu ...

, Peter DeBoer, and

Bruce Cassidy Bruce James Cassidy (born May 20, 1965), nicknamed " Butch", is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, ...

). He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. Nearly 2 weeks after winning the Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023, Craig was appointed as the head coach of Vegas'

(AHL) affiliate, the

, on June 26, 2023.

Personal life

Craig is married to Jaydee, who grew up in Souris, Manitoba. They have three children together.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Ryan 1982 births Living people Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Hershey Bears players Lake Erie Monsters players Norfolk Admirals players Pittsburgh Penguins players Ice hockey people from Abbotsford, British Columbia Springfield Falcons players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Vegas Golden Knights coaches Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen