Mike Craig (ice hockey, born 1971)

For other people named Michael Craig, see Michael Craig (disambiguation).

Michael Craig (born June 6, 1971) is a Canadian former professional hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League. He was the last former Minnesota North Star active in professional hockey, and was an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League.^[1]

Mike Craig
Craig at the 2002 AHL All-Star Game
Born	(1971-06-06) June 6, 1971 (age 53) London, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Minnesota North Stars Dallas Stars Toronto Maple Leafs San Jose Sharks SCL Tigers Vienna Capitals EC KAC EC VSV
NHL draft	28th overall, 1989 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1990–2013

Playing career

Craig was born in London, Ontario, but he grew up in nearby Thorndale, Ontario.

Craig had a strong career in the OHL where he played for the Oshawa Generals for three seasons alongside Eric Lindros. After an unspectacular rookie season, he posted excellent numbers, scoring 72 points in 63 games in the 1988/1989 season. His best Junior season was in 1989/1990 when he scored 76 points in 43 and won the Memorial Cup with the Generals. He would also win back to back gold medals playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in 1990 and 1991 and was named a first team all-star in 1991.

He was drafted 28th overall in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars.

His NHL career would prove to be less than spectacular, scoring 71 goals and 168 points in 423 games over 9 seasons. He would play with the North Stars and was a part of the team when they moved to Dallas. He also played with Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks while also spending time with several IHL and AHL teams.

In 2002, Craig was part of the Canadian team that won the Spengler Cup over host team HC Davos. Craig would score the game-winning goal in the final game of round robin play.^[2]

While playing with the Vienna Capitals in the Austrian Hockey League, he led the league in scoring in 2004–05 and leading the Capitals to the championship.

In 2007–08 he joined EC KAC also in the Austrian Hockey League. On October 18, 2011, he signed EC VSV, also in Austria.^[3]

During the midpoint of the 2013 season, Craig signed as a free agent for his last professional season in Italy with league leaders HC Neumarkt-Egna of the second division on January 13, 2013.^[4]

Awards

• 1990 Won Memorial Cup with Oshawa Generals
• 1990 Won World Junior Championships Gold Medal
• 1991 Won World Junior Championships Gold Medal
• 1991 World Junior Championships First Team All-Star
• 2002 Won Spengler Cup with Team Canada

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986–87	Woodstock Navy-Vets	NDJHL		32	29	19	48	64		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Oshawa Generals	OHL		61	6	10	16	39		7	0	1	1	11
1988–89	Oshawa Generals	OHL		63	36	36	72	34		6	3	1	4	6
1989–90	Oshawa Generals	OHL		43	36	40	76	85		17	10	16	26	46
1990–91	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		39	8	4	12	32		10	1	1	2	20
1991–92	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		67	15	16	31	155		4	1	0	1	7
1992–93	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		70	15	23	38	106		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Dallas Stars	NHL		72	13	24	37	139		4	0	0	0	2
1994–95	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		37	5	5	10	12		2	0	1	1	2
1995–96	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	8	12	20	42		6	0	0	0	18
1996–97	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		65	7	13	20	62		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	San Antonio Dragons	IHL		12	4	1	5	18		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Kansas City Blades	IHL		59	14	33	47	68		11	5	5	10	28
1998–99	San Jose Sharks	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Kentucky Thoroughblades	AHL		52	27	17	44	72		12	5	4	9	18
1999–2000	Kentucky Thoroughblades	AHL		76	39	39	78	116		9	5	5	10	14
2000–01	Hershey Bears	AHL		57	21	22	43	73		12	3	2	5	20
2001–02	San Jose Sharks	NHL		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Cleveland Barons	AHL		69	35	25	60	87		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	SC Langnau	NLA		44	17	18	35	97		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Vienna Capitals	AUT		46	24	22	46	76		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Vienna Capitals	AUT		41	32	39	71	84		10	5	6	11	22
2005–06	Vienna Capitals	AUT		47	25	34	59	103		5	2	0	2	8
2006–07	Vienna Capitals	AUT		56	43	43	86	130		3	3	3	6	0
2007–08	EC KAC	AUT		34	19	14	33	60		3	0	0	0	24
2008–09	EC KAC	AUT		54	25	24	49	78		16	8	12	20	28
2009–10	EC KAC	AUT		45	24	14	38	54		7	1	3	4	8
2010–11	EC KAC	AUT		46	24	14	38	81		14	6	5	11	20
2011–12	EC VSV	AUT		37	14	15	29	40		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HC Neumarkt-Egna	ITA.2		11	7	8	15	22		7	1	4	5	12
NHL totals				423	71	97	168	550		26	2	2	4	49
AHL totals				254	122	103	225	348		33	13	11	24	52
AUT totals				406	230	219	449	706		58	25	29	54	110

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990	Canada	WJC		7	3	0	3	8
1991	Canada	WJC		7	6	5	11	8
Junior totals				14	9	5	14	16

References

1. "Mike Craig joins coaching staff". Lethbridge Hurricanes. August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
2. "ECHL's Masked Men-News and Notes". ECHLGoalies.com. February 1, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
3. "Schlag auf Schlag: Mike Craig will es allen zeigen!". October 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
4. "Mike Craig is the next sensational transfer". HC Neumarkt-Egna. January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database