Cory Conacher

Last updated
Cory Conacher
Cory Conacher crop.jpg
Conacher in 2019
Born (1989-12-14) December 14, 1989 (age 34)
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Tampa Bay Lightning
Ottawa Senators
Buffalo Sabres
New York Islanders
Lausanne HC
SC Bern
HC Ambrì-Piotta
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 20112024

Cory Conacher (born December 14, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre On July 5, 2024, he became the new owner of the Strathroy Rockets of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Growing up in Burlington, Ontario, Conacher spent most of his minor hockey career playing AAA and AA hockey in the OMHA's Tri-County League until playing AAA at Major Midget in 2005-06 season. He spent 1 year playing Midget for the Eagles before graduating as a 17-year-old to the OJHL's Burlington Cougars Jr.A. club in 2006-07.

Prior to turning professional, Conacher played college hockey at Canisius College with the Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey team. He would ultimately become the school's all-time leader in points (147), goals (62) and game-winning goals (12) in 129 games. [2]

Cory Conacher in the penalty box in Pittsburgh Cory Conacher 2013-05-17 2.JPG
Cory Conacher in the penalty box in Pittsburgh

Largely due to his diminutive size, Conacher went undrafted through his four years with Canisius. However, Conacher became the program's most decorated player, setting 12 records. He graduated with a degree in Finance. He was subsequently signed after his senior year in 2010–11 to amateur try-out contracts with the Rochester Americans, Cincinnati Cyclones and the Milwaukee Admirals. As a free agent on July 6, 2011, Conacher signed a one-year contract with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL. [3]

In the 2011–12 season, after attending the Tampa Bay Lightning pre-season camp, [4] Conacher was selected to play in the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, after leading all rookies in scoring. While leading the Admirals in goals and points, Conacher signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Admirals' NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on March 1, 2012. [5] Upon helping the Admirals capture their first Calder Cup, Conacher's successful season was rewarded with the Les Cunningham Award as the league's MVP, becoming just the fourth rookie to win it since it was first presented in 1948. Conacher was subsequently awarded the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award and was also named to the AHL All-Rookie team and the Second AHL All-Star Team. [6]

With the NHL lockout in effect, Conacher started the 2012–13 season with Tampa's new AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Once the lockout concluded Conacher was recalled by the Lightning to attend training camp for the shortened NHL season. He immediately made an impact with Tampa Bay, scoring his first NHL goal in his first NHL game on January 19, 2013, on opening night against Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals in a 6-3 win. Conacher continued to be productive and placed second in NHL rookie scoring with 24 points in 35 games before being dealt at the trade deadline (along with a 2013 fourth-round draft pick) to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Ben Bishop on April 3, 2013. [7]

Conacher's first full season with the Senators was a difficult one, as he struggled to find offensive consistency. Through his first 58 games of the season he recorded only four goals and was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions. Conacher's offensive struggles were perhaps magnified by the fact that goaltender Bishop, the player he had been traded for, was playing very well in Tampa Bay and was frequently receiving mention as a Vezina Trophy candidate. On March 4, 2014, the eve of the 2013–14 NHL trade deadline, Conacher was placed on waivers by the Senators. [8] He was subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Sabres on March 5, 2014. [9]

The Sabres declined to offer Conacher a contract extension, which allowed him to become a free agent on June 30, 2014. The team was undecided in regard to retaining his rights, only deciding at the last minute to release him. [10]

On July 1, 2014, Conacher was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders on a one-year, $600,000 contract. [11] After playing in 15 of the team's first 29 games, Conacher was placed on waivers by the Islanders on December 12, 2014. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's minor league affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the following day. [12] On March 2, 2015, Conacher was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for Utica Comets player Dustin Jeffrey. [13] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, securing an offensive role to help the club reach the Calder Cup finals.

On July 1, 2015, Conacher left the NHL as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with Swiss club, SC Bern, of the NLA. [14] In December 2015, he was selected to play for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup and helped win the title, while being named to the tournament's all-star team. He won the National League A title that same season with SC Bern, scoring 5 goals in 14 playoffs games.

On July 13, 2016, Conacher once again signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League to a one-year, one-way contract. [15] On January 29, 2017, Conacher was added to the 2017 American Hockey League All-Star Classic roster. Conacher will represent the Crunch on the North Division All-Star team. [16] On April 6, 2017, Conacher was named to the 2016-17 AHL ALL-Star Second Team. [17] On June 28, 2017, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed Conacher to a two-year, $1.3 million contract extension. [18] On October 17, 2018, the Lightning re-signed Conacher to a one-year contract extension. [19]

On July 28, 2020, Conacher returned to the National League (NL) and agreed to a three-year contract with Lausanne HC. [20] On February 16, 2021, Conacher moved to former club, SC Bern. Conacher signed a new 3-year deal with SCB, keeping him at the club through to the end of the 2022/23 season. [21] On February 23, 2022, SC Bern announced that Conacher would be loaned to HC Ambrì-Piotta for the remainder of the season. [22]

After two seasons in Switzerland, and with a desire to play closer to home, [23] Conacher opted to return to North America for the 2022–23 season and signed a professional tryout contract with the Belleville Senators of the AHL, affiliate of former club the Ottawa Senators, on November 1, 2022. [24] Conacher featured in just 2 games with Belleville before suffering a long-term injury in which he was released upon his recovery. On February 22, 2023, Conacher continued in the AHL by signing a PTO with the Charlotte Checkers, affiliate to the Florida Panthers. [25] In playing with the Checkers for the remainder of the season, Conacher collected 9 points through 15 games.

As a free agent, Conacher was again on the move within the AHL, securing a one-year contract with the Chicago Wolves on June 1, 2023. [26] He was later signed to a professional tryout contract to attend the Carolina Hurricanes training camp in preparation for the 2023–24 season on August 29, 2023. [27] In his last professional season, Conacher posted 8 goals and 19 points through 66 regular season games with the Wolves.

Personal

Conacher was born with a bladder exstrophy, a rare condition in which his bladder was outside his body. When he was ten days old he underwent a ten-hour surgical procedure in which doctors reconstructed his pelvis in order to place his bladder back into his body. The situation was so severe that doctors informed his parents that he might never walk properly. [28] Additionally, Conacher was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of eight. When not playing he often has an insulin pump attached to his hip to regulate his blood glucose levels. [2]

Conacher is a distant relative of Hockey Hall of Famers Charlie, Roy, and Lionel Conacher, [29] but despite rumours to the contrary, he is not related to former NHL forward Pat Conacher. Cory Conacher has a younger brother, Shane Conacher, who played for the Adirondack Thunder, and in 2023-24 was playing for the Dundas Real McCoys . [30] [31] Both starred at Canisius College, [32] [31] but were never teammates. Cory graduated in 2011, while Shane matriculated in 2013. [33]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2005–06Burlington Eagles AAA Midget 4830336330
2006–07 Burlington Cougars OPJHL 4822406262
2007–08 Canisius College AHA 207101724
2008–09 Canisius CollegeAHA3712233542
2009–10 Canisius CollegeAHA3520335336
2010–11 Canisius CollegeAHA3723194254
2010–11 Rochester Americans AHL 21012
2010–11 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 35270
2010–11 Milwaukee Admirals AHL5325270116
2011–12 Norfolk Admirals AHL75394180114182131528
2012–13 Syracuse Crunch AHL3612162856
2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 359152416
2012–13 Ottawa Senators NHL122356830331
2013–14 Ottawa SenatorsNHL604162034
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL1933616
2014–15 New York Islanders NHL1512314
2014–15 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL285172230
2014–15 Utica Comets AHL207916222353828
2015–16 SC Bern NLA 48223052681454920
2016–17 Syracuse CrunchAHL561743601132212162827
2016–17 Tampa Bay LightningNHL111344
2017–18 Syracuse CrunchAHL18781536
2017–18 Tampa Bay LightningNHL36841224200010
2018–19 Tampa Bay LightningNHL10002
2018–19 Syracuse CrunchAHL702242649541236
2019–20 Syracuse CrunchAHL4414243839
2019–20 Tampa Bay LightningNHL40114
2020–21 Lausanne HC NL21951420
2020–21SC BernNL19913223262356
2021–22 SC BernNL361372030
2021–22 HC Ambrì-Piotta NL51346
2022–23 Belleville Senators AHL20110
2022–23 Charlotte Checkers AHL15459672132
2023–24 Chicago Wolves AHL668111980
NHL totals1932847751181030341
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Spengler Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Davos

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2015 Canada SC Gold medal icon.svg42354
Senior totals42354

Awards and honours

AwardYear
College
All-Atlantic Hockey First Team 2009–10 [34]
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year 2009–10 [35]
All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team 2010–11
AHL
Les Cunningham Award 2011–12 [6]
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award 2011–12 [36]
All-Rookie Team2011–12 [37]
Second All-Star Team2011–12, 2016–17 [38] [39]
Calder Cup (Norfolk Admirals)2011–12 [40]
All-Star Game 2017, 2019 [16] [41]
CCM/AHL Player of the Month (November 2018) 2018–19 [42]
NLA
Champion 2015–16 [43]

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References

  1. "New Ownership for the Strathroy Rockets". Greator Ontario Junior Hockey League. July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Wharnsby, Tim (October 9, 2012). "Cory Conacher has overcome plenty, including surname". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved July 13, 2016.
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  43. "Roy Berns Up Swiss League Championship". HockeyBuzz. 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year
2009–10
Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Scoring Trophy
2009–10
Succeeded by
Preceded by AHL Rookie of the Year
2011–12
Succeeded by