Former Wheat King Craig basks in first championship victory

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This article was published 17/06/2016 (3645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ryan Craig admits that he imagined what it would be like to raise a trophy above his head on the ice.

On Monday he finally got the chance after his Lake Erie Monsters swept the Hershey Bears to capture the American Hockey League title. As team captain, the former Brandon Wheat King was the first to hoist the Calder Cup.

“At that point, there were over 19,000 people in the building, it was just a surreal experience,” Craig said. “You think about it a little bit but then when it happens, you get lost in the moment. But there have been lots of videos and pictures that I’ve seen. Just to be able to share that with my family and the people who have supported me for a long, long time is great.”

Now 34, Craig capped his 13th professional season by winning Cleveland’s first professional sports title since the Barons took the AHL title in 1964.

The Monsters won the title in front of the largest hockey crowd in Ohio hockey history — 19,665 people — at Quicken Loans Arena, the building they share with the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Between the Indians, the Browns, the Cavs and us in the mix, Cleveland is a great sports city,” Craig said. “They’ve gone a long time without a title.”

The Monsters have roots back to the Denver and Utah Grizzlies of the International Hockey League. The franchise moved to Cleveland in time for the 2007-08 season, and this was just their second appearance in the playoffs in nine seasons.

It was Cleveland’s first year as the top affiliate for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the organization that Craig has spent the last four seasons with after beginning his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Craig, who was with the Wheat Kings for five seasons from 1998 to 2003, played 198 games in the NHL. He was last up with the Blue Jackets in 2014-15, playing two games.

While he’ll attend camp with them in the fall, he signed a two-year deal with them a year ago to mentor the organization’s youngest players.

“I go to camp with Columbus but I know exactly where I stand,” Craig said. “I’ll be captain in Lake Erie and try to repeat.”

In the last 15 seasons, Craig has served as captain nine times, dating back to 2001-02 and 2002-03 with the Wheat Kings. Craig said he just tries to be himself.

“I try and lead by example,” Craig said. “I figure that if I’m going to ask someone to do something, I better be doing it myself. Whether that’s hard work or being accountable or just living up to expectations, if I’m going to demand that from my teammates or expect that from them, then it better start with me. That’s my philosophy in being a good leader.”

Craig, a product of Abbotsford, B.C., put down roots in Manitoba after finishing his Wheat Kings career. After initially living in Brandon, Craig and his family — wife Jaydee, and children Carson, 8, Kylie, 6 and Camryn, 2 — now spend the summer at Thomas Lake.

He was well aware of the success that his former WHL club enjoyed last season.

“I keep in good contact with Kelly McCrimmon, I call him a good friend and someone who I talk to often,” Craig said. “Everybody has their alumni when they turn pro and you follow them and keep in touch. I knew they had a good team from last year and I’m just real excited for what they accomplished, winning the league title and going to the Memorial Cup. They had a phenomenal year, a year that hasn’t been done in 20 years by the Wheat Kings.”

It was success that extended to some of the team’s alumni who are playing professional hockey. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Eric Fehr won his first Stanley Cup on Sunday, three days after Eric Roy captured the East Coast Hockey League’s Kelly Cup with the Allen Americans.

“Eric Roy played a few games with our team this year on a callup and came up and did real well with us,” Craig said. “That was the first time that I had ever played with Eric. And then Fehrsy, I played one year with him with the Wheat Kings. It’s great to see that Brandon is well represented as they always are through all the hockey leagues.”

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