The two cities may be separated by over 2500 kilometers, but connections between the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings run deep, and now they run just a little bit deeper.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon, who was the Wheat Kings’ majority owner for 19 years as well as being both a head coach and general manager, announced that another former Wheat King will join him in helping steer the Golden Knights, as he has hired Ryan Craig as the team’s new head coach.
Craig, a 44-year-old from Abbotsford, spent five seasons with the Wheat Kings from 1998-99 to 2002-03, the last two of which he served as the team’s captain. All told, he played 302 games as a Wheat King.
From Brandon, Craig went on to play 198 NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He played over 900 games of professional hockey.
Craig’s connection to the Golden Knights began early in their existence. He was part of the team’s inaugural coaching staff as an assistant in 2017-18 and served in that role for six seasons. Most recently, he was at the helm of Vegas’s AHL affiliate as head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights for three seasons.
The Golden Knights announced that previous head coach John Tortorella would not return to the team after the Stanley Cup Finals.
