Ryan Craig

Ryan F. Craig (born January 6, 1982) 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). Prior to retirement, he played in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue Jackets, and served as the captain of the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL). Craig was drafted 255th overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft by the Lightning.

Playing career

As a youth, Craig played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Craig started his junior ice hockey career with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League 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. 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 on July 19, 2012.

Craig was selected as the Falcons' captain in his first season with the club, in 2012–13. 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.

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. In his first season with the Monsters in 2015–16, Craig led the team as Captain in capturing their first Calder Cup championship.

Coaching career Craig joined the Vegas Golden Knights NHL expansion team as an assistant coach 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 (Gerard Gallant, Peter DeBoer, and Bruce Cassidy). He won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

Nearly 2 weeks after winning the Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023, Craig was appointed as the head coach of Vegas' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, on June 26, 2023.

Three years later, on June 17, 2026, Craig was named head coach of Vegas, succeeding John Tortorella.

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

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1997–98 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1998–99 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 54 11 12 23 46 5 0 0 0 4 1999–00 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 65 17 19 36 40 — — — — — 2000–01 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 70 38 33 71 49 6 3 0 3 7 2001–02 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 52 29 35 64 52 19 11 10 21 13 2002–03 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 60 42 32 74 69 17 5 8 13 29 2003–04 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 5 3 5 8 0 2 0 1 1 0 2003–04 Hershey Bears AHL 61 4 8 12 24 — — — — — 2004–05 Springfield Falcons AHL 80 27 14 41 50 — — — — — 2005–06 Springfield Falcons AHL 28 12 10 22 14 — — — — — 2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 48 15 13 28 6 5 0 0 0 10 2006–07 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 72 14 13 27 55 6 0 0 0 12 2007–08 Norfolk Admirals AHL 2 1 2 3 2 — — — — — 2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 7 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 54 2 4 6 60 — — — — — 2009–10 Norfolk Admirals AHL 73 23 22 45 64 — — — — — 2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 3 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2010–11 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 71 19 29 48 84 12 3 4 7 12 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 6 0 0 0 22 — — — — — 2011–12 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 68 11 19 30 70 12 1 3 4 2 2012–13 Springfield Falcons AHL 75 20 27 47 71 8 2 2 4 7 2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL 55 18 15 33 52 5 4 1 5 4 2013–14 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Springfield Falcons AHL 67 17 20 37 60 — — — — — 2014–15 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 60 9 11 20 38 17 3 10 13 8 2016–17 Cleveland Monsters AHL 71 11 11 22 25 — — — — — AHL totals 711 172 188 360 554 54 13 20 33 33 NHL totals 198 32 31 63 148 11 0 0 0 22

Awards and honours Awards Year RefWHL East First All-Star Team 2002–03 Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy 2002–03 CHL's Humanitarian of the Year Award 2002–03 AHL Calder Cup champion 2016 NHL Stanley Cup champion (as assistant coach) 2023