Craig Heisinger
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Craig Heisinger (born October 16, 1962) is a Canadian
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 hock ...
executive. He is the
assistant general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and director of hockey operations for the
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, pl ...
of 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 ...
and
senior vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of
True North Sports and Entertainment True North Sports and Entertainment Limited (TNSE or TNS&E) is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that owns and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. The company also ow ...
. He is also the general manager of the
Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...
, the
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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
affiliate of the Jets.


Equipment manager and trainer


Junior hockey

Heisinger began his career in hockey as the equipment manager of the Fort Garry South Blues of the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...
(MJHL) in 1978–79. After two season with the Blues, he spent four years (1980–1984) with the
Winnipeg Warriors The Winnipeg Warriors were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League. They were founded as an expansion team in 1980, but suffered from attendance problems competing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and ...
of the
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
(WHL) and another four years (1984–1988) with the
Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hoc ...
, also of the WHL.


Professional hockey

Heisinger made the jump to the NHL when he joined the original
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, pl ...
hockey club as assistant equipment manager. Two years later, he was promoted to equipment manager and served in that capacity until the Jets left for
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
in 1996. Heisinger, who had a young family at the time, decided not to move with the team. Instead, he accepted an offer to be the equipment manager for Winnipeg's new International Hockey League team, the
Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...
. Heisinger served as the equipment manager of the Moose for three seasons.


International

Heisinger's first international stint came in 1988, when he served as a trainer for
Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...
at the
World Junior Hockey Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...
in
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, where Canada won the gold medal. In 1997, he was a member of Team Canada's training staff at the
World Ice Hockey Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
, where Canada also won gold. In his most prominent international role, he was selected as the Equipment Manager for Canada's men's ice hockey team at the 1998 Winters Olympics in
Nagano, Japan Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Univer ...
, the first Olympics in which NHL players were allowed to compete.


Executive career


AHL

In 1999, after three seasons as equipment manager, the Moose promoted Heisinger to assistant general manager under
Randy Carlyle Randolph Robert Carlyle (born April 19, 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the former head coach of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Toronto Maple Leafs and the Anaheim Ducks. He won the Stanl ...
. He was promoted to general manager in 2002 when Carlyle left to join the
Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
and has held that post since, including the franchise's four seasons as the
St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...
(2011-2015). He was also named senior vice president after
True North Sports and Entertainment True North Sports and Entertainment Limited (TNSE or TNS&E) is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that owns and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. The company also ow ...
acquired the team in 2003. Hesinger has been honoured by the AHL on two occasions. In 2009, Heisinger was named the James C. Hendy Memorial Award winner as the most outstanding executive after the Moose enjoyed their most successful season in franchise history. In 2017, the AHL selected Heisinger for the
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award The Thomas Ebright Memorial Award is presented annually for outstanding career contributions to the American Hockey League. The award is named for Thomas Ebright, the former owner of the Portland Pirates and Baltimore Skipjacks The Baltimore Sk ...
for his career contributions to the league.


NHL

In May 2011, True North named Heisinger the director of hockey operations and assistant general manager for its new NHL team,
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, pl ...
, working under general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. Heisinger continues to hold the titles of senior vice-president for True North and general manager of the AHL team.


Personal life

Heisinger and his wife Vickie live in Winnipeg. They have four sons: Jake, Mack, Tucker and Zachery. Heisinger is an advocate for
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
and, together with the True North Youth Foundation (the charitable arm of True North Sports & Entertainment), created ''Project 11'' to promote mental wellness amongst students and athletes. The program in named after former Moose player
Rick Rypien Richard Joseph Rypien (May 16, 1984 – August 15, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who spent parts of six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks. After a major junior career of four years wi ...
, a former Manitoba Moose player who wore #11, who died in 2011 after a lengthy battle with depression.


References


External links


Profile at winnipegjets.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heisinger, Craig 1962 births Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Living people Manitoba Moose Winnipeg Jets executives St. John's IceCaps