Mike Craig

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.

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.

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.

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.

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