John Craighead (born November 23, 1971) is a retired professional ice hockey right winger and enforcer. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs during 1996–97 season, and for various minor league teams in North America and Europe from 1997 to 2005.[1][2] He holds the Deutsche Eishockey Liga record for penalty minutes for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.[citation needed]
| John Craighead | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
November 23, 1971 Richmond, Virginia, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Toronto Maple Leafs Nürnberg Ice Tigers Revier Löwen Oberhausen Nottingham Panthers Cardiff Devils | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1991–2005 | ||
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989–90 | Ladner Penguins | BCJHL | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | New Westminster Royals | BCJHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Surrey Eagles | BCJHL | 13 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Chilliwack Chiefs | BCJHL | 25 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 116 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | West Palm Beach Blaze | SuHL | 36 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 158 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Johnstown Chiefs | ECHL | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Louisville Icehawks | ECHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Huntington Blizzard | ECHL | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Richmond Renegades | ECHL | 28 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 44 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 285 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 63 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 368 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 28 | ||
| 1996–97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 53 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 318 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | ||
| 1997–98 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 49 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 233 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Quebec Rafales | IHL | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 34 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 144 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 60 | ||
| 1999–00 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 50 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 171 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 37 | ||
| 2000–01 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 49 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 152 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2001–02 | Revier Löwen Oberhausen | DEL | 49 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 226 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 47 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 109 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | ||
| 2003–04 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 54 | 39 | 30 | 69 | 182 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2004–05 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 16 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 36 | ||
| DEL totals | 182 | 35 | 44 | 79 | 693 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 109 | ||||
| NHL totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Post-retirement
editOn September 24, 2015, as Head Coach and part-owner of the then-Langley Knights, a Junior B team in the PJHL, an altercation behind the opposing Mission City Outlaws bench resulted in Craighead being suspended for six years by governing body BC Hockey.[3] Hockey Canada later reduced Craighead's suspension to two years as owner, and three years as coach. During the incident, Craighead entered the Mission City Outlaws bench to confront its coach during a bench-clearing brawl. Craighead claimed that he was attempting to de-escalate the situation. A Mission City Outlaws player claimed that he was assaulted by Craighead while trying to separate the coaches.[4] The Mission City Outlaws coach was issued a ten-game suspension and his team was fined CA$2,500. Players on both teams received multi-game suspensions.[5]
Craighead returned as Head Coach in the 2018-2019 season after Hockey Canada reduced his suspension to three years.[6] Following the decision from Hockey Canada, the PJHL initiated proceedings to expel the Craighead's team from the league. Craighead successfully petitioned the BC Supreme Court to order PJHL to cease its disciplinary proceedings and take no further action against the team and its owners.[7] The decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.[8]
On March 3, 2023, Craighead was involved in an altercation with a referee while playing beer league hockey. The referee alleged that Craighead assaulted him; first as he was attempting to break up a fight between Craighead and another player, then Craighead allegedly followed the referee to his dressing room where he punched him in the face and pulled his jersey over his head. Craighead stated that these claims were “a defamation of character, propaganda, and are being made because of his race.” [9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Scott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. p. 153. ISBN 1-894974-21-2.
- ^ "John Craighead Hockey Stats and Profile". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Haberstroh, Max (25 September 2015). "Minor hockey league bench-clearing brawl involving coaches caught on video". CBC News. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Haberstroh, Max (25 September 2015). "Minor hockey league bench-clearing brawl involving coaches caught on video". CBC News. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Winteringham, J. "Surrey Knights Junior Hockey v. The Pacific Junior Hockey League, 2018 BCSC 1748". CanLII. Supreme Court of British Columbia. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Zillich, Tom (21 March 2018). "Craighead to return as Surrey Knights coach, team says, after serving two-year suspension". Peace Arch News. Black Press. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ Winteringham, J. "Surrey Knights Junior Hockey v. The Pacific Junior Hockey League, 2018 BCSC 1748". CanLII. Supreme Court of British Columbia. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Fisher, B. "Surrey Knights Junior Hockey v. The Pacific Junior Hockey League, 2020 BCCA 348". CanLII. Court of Appeal for British Columbia. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "Langley RCMP investigating adult hockey incident between player and referee - BC | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database