Craig Fisher (born June 30, 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 who currently works in the athletic administration for

Ontario Tech University Ontario Tech University (OTU), also known as Ontario Tech, is a public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is located on approximately of land in northern Oshawa, while its secondary satellite cam ...

(UOIT), having previously served as the head coach of the UOIT hockey team. Fisher grew up in

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. It ...

, where he and brother Mark played

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

. Mark and Craig both played for the

Oshawa Legionaires Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

of the

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...

. Mark would go on to play for

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, while Craig played US

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

. Craig thrived at Miami, with 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists) in his 1988-89 freshman season, earning First-Team All-Rookie

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...

(CCHA) honors, and then producing 66 points (37 goals, 29 assists) in his sophomore season, named to the First-Team All-CCHA Team for 1989-90. Fisher had been drafted 56th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

and turned pro at the end of the 1989-90 collegiate season. Fisher finished the season with Miami on March 3, 1990 and made his NHL debut with Philiadelphia some three weeks later, on March 27. A prolific scorer, Fisher played 12

NHL 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 ...

games with the Flyers,

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

, and Florida Panthers, but spent much of his career playing for various

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL) teams. Fisher was part of the AHL championship

Cape Breton Oilers The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hali ...

, winning the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

in 1993. He then led the IHL in goals scored (74) in 1995-96 while playing for the Orlando Solar Bears. In 1995, while playing for the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

, Fisher suffered a violent collision, knocked unconscious and hitting his head on the ice. His playing career would come to an end as a result of this

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

. Fisher would move into coaching, eventually becoming the head coach for the

Whitby Fury The Haliburton County Huskies are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. History This franchise was founded in 1965 as the Oshawa Crushmen, and were initially a member o ...

, leading the team to a 31-19 (.609) record in 2012-13 and a 35-14 (.698) season in 2013-14. He suffered another concussion behind the bench with Whitby in 2013, missing extensive time with the team as a result. Having previously served at Ontario Tech as an assistant coach, Fisher was named as the head coach of the Ridgebacks in 2014, but was forced to resign shortly afterwards due to ongoing concussion symptoms. Fisher lives in Whitby with his family and works for Ontario Tech as an athletic advisor, working to raise awareness of concussions in hockey and counseling athletes in dealing with concussion and TBI symptoms.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Craig 1970 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cape Breton Oilers players Carolina Monarchs players Florida Panthers players Hershey Bears players Indianapolis Ice players Kölner Haie players Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey players Moncton Hawks players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players Sportspeople from Oshawa Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Rochester Americans players Utah Grizzlies (AHL) players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players