Craig Raymond Coxe (born January 21, 1964) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. In addition to playing in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

, and the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. Coxe also played two seasons of major league roller hockey in the RHI, after having grown up playing hockey in Tucson, Arizona, from 1969 to 1975 and in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

. He lives in the suburbs of Saint Ignace, Michigan.

Playing career

Coxe was selected in fourth round (66th overall) in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

by the Detroit Red Wings. Unable to come to terms with Detroit, he became an unrestricted free agent after the 1983–84 season and signed with the

. Coxe played for four different NHL teams over eight seasons in the NHL. Best known as an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

, Coxe played in 235 NHL regular season games, scoring 45 points and receiving 713 minutes in penalties. Coxe was suspended for the first three games of the

1987–88 NHL season The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanl ...

for leaving the penalty box to fight Joe Paterson during a pre-season game against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. While perhaps best remembered as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, Coxe was claimed from the Canucks by the

in the

1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts The 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts were held via telephone conference call on May 30, 1991. The dispersal draft took place to fill the roster of the league's only expansion team for the 1991–92 season, the San Jose Sharks, first from ...

and, on October 4, 1991, he scored the first goal in the Sharks' franchise history. It was the next-to-last goal that he scored in the NHL.

Coxe vs. Probert

Coxe was known as a willing fighter at the NHL level. Coxe's fights with

Bob Probert Robert Alan Probert (June 5, 1965 – July 5, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Probert played for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including be ...

are considered classics and have been referred to as "two of the biggest toe to toe slugfests of all time".

Coaching career

During the 1999–00 season, his final year as a player, Coxe was playing with the

San Antonio Iguanas The San Antonio Iguanas were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in San Antonio, Texas. The first expansion team in the Central Hockey League, they were active for seven seasons from 1994–1997 and 1998–2002. Their home arena wa ...

in the CHL. Before the season's end, Coxe was named the assistant coach for the team. The following season Coxe was named head coach of the CHL's Huntsville Tornado. Coxe was also the head coach of the CHL's

El Paso Buzzards The El Paso Buzzards were a professional ice hockey team in El Paso, Texas and were members of the Western Professional Hockey League and Central Hockey League. They played their home games at El Paso County Coliseum. The team was founded by Jim ...

for their final season in 2002–03. During this season, the team's owner, Bill Davidson, had declared bankruptcy. Despite not being paid for over a month, and even though at times he was able to dress only 9 or 10 players, Coxe continued to coach the team to the season's end.Coxe is now coaching one of the most notorious high school hockey teams, The Petoskey Northmen. He is currently the head hockey coach at Cheboygan Area High School in

Cheboygan, Michigan Cheboygan ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,876. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County. The name of the city shares the name of the county and probably has its origin from the ...

. He is also the rink manager at the Ralph G. Cantile Arena in Cheboygan.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coxe, Craig 1964 births American men's ice hockey centers Belleville Bulls players Calgary Flames players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players Corpus Christi Icerays players Detroit Red Wings draft picks Fredericton Express players Huntsville Channel Cats (SHL) players Ice hockey players from California Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Kansas City Blades players Living people Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players Phoenix Cobras players San Antonio Iguanas players San Jose Sharks players St. Albert Saints players St. Louis Blues players Sportspeople from Chula Vista, California Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Vancouver Canucks players Vancouver VooDoo players Wichita Thunder players People from Cheboygan, Michigan People from St. Ignace, Michigan