Craig Fisher

For the American television producer, see Craig B. Fisher.

Craig Fisher
Born	(1970-06-30) June 30, 1970 (age 54) Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Winnipeg Jets Florida Panthers
NHL draft	56th overall, 1988 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	1990–1999

Craig Fisher (born June 30, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who currently works in the athletic administration for Ontario Tech University (UOIT), having previously served as the head coach of the UOIT hockey team. ^[1]

Fisher grew up in Whitby, Ontario, where he and brother Mark played junior hockey. Mark and Craig both played for the Oshawa Legionaires of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Mark would go on to play for McGill University, while Craig played US college hockey at Miami University. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

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 (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. ^[5] Fisher had been drafted 56th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers 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 Philadelphia some three weeks later, on March 27. ^{[4] [6]}

A prolific scorer, Fisher played 12 NHL games with the Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, and Florida Panthers, but spent much of his career playing for various American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL) teams. Fisher was part of the AHL championship Cape Breton Oilers, winning the Calder Cup in 1993. ^{[7] [8]} He then led the IHL in goals scored (74) in 1995-96 while playing for the Orlando Solar Bears. ^[9]

In 1999, while playing for the Rochester Americans, 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. ^[10] Fisher would move into coaching, eventually becoming the head coach for the Whitby Fury, leading the team to a 31-19 (.609) record in 2012-13 and a 35-14 (.698) season in 2013-14. ^[4] He suffered another concussion behind the bench with Whitby in 2013, missing extensive time with the team as a result. ^{[11] [12]} Having previously served at Ontario Tech as an assistant coach, Fisher was named as the head coach of the Ridgebacks in 2014, ^[13] but was forced to resign shortly afterwards due to ongoing concussion symptoms. ^[14]

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. ^{[15] [16]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986–87	Oshawa Legionaires	MJBHL		34	22	26	48	18		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Oshawa Legionaires	MJBHL		36	42	34	76	48		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Miami University	CCHA		37	22	20	42	37		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Miami University	CCHA		39	37	29	66	38		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Hershey Bears	AHL		77	43	36	79	46		7	5	3	8	2
1991–92	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		60	20	25	45	28		1	0	0	0	0
1992–93	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		75	32	29	61	74		1	0	0	0	2
1993–94	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		16	5	5	10	11		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Moncton Hawks	AHL		46	26	35	61	36		21	11	11	22	28
1994–95	Indianapolis Ice	IHL		77	53	40	93	65		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Orlando Solar Bears	IHL		82	74	56	130	81		14	10	7	17	6
1996–97	Florida Panthers	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		15	6	7	13	4		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Carolina Monarchs	AHL		42	33	29	62	16		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Kölner Haie	DEL		35	9	8	17	36		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Rochester Americans	AHL		70	29	52	81	28		20	9	11	20	10
1999–00	Rochester Americans	AHL		17	15	8	23	8		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				403	203	219	422	247		50	25	25	50	42
NHL totals				12	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-CCHA Rookie Team	1988-89	[17]
All-CCHA First Team	1989-90	[18]

References

1. "Craig Fisher named head coach of the UOIT men's hockey program". Ontario Tech Athletics. 12 February 2014.
2. http://images.ourontario.ca/Partners/Whitby/002451745p18.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
3. "Mark Fisher (b.1968) Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com".
4. "Craig Fisher Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com".
5. https://s3.amazonaws.com/miamiredhawks.com/documents/2021/6/9/2021_22_Miami_Hockey_Record_Book_.pdf Archived 2021-11-29 at the Wayback Machine ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
6. "Craig Fisher Stats". Hockey-Reference.com.
7. "Twenty years later, memories of Calder Cup win still very much alive | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com.
8. "Cape Breton Oilers 1992-93 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com".
9. "IHL 1995-96 League Leaders at hockeydb.com".
10. Fitz-Gerald, Sean (December 4, 2015). "The coach and the concussion that won't go away". Toronto Star.
11. "Whitby Fury rally in absence of Craig Fisher". DurhamRegion.com. 31 October 2013.
12. "Whitby Fury playing without head coach". DurhamRegion.com. 22 October 2013.
13. "Craig Fisher named head coach of UOIT men's hockey program". DurhamRegion.com. 14 February 2014.
14. "Whitby's Craig Fisher forced out of coaching by lingering concussion symptoms". 4 November 2015.
15. Jones, Chris (March 23, 2017). "Changing the culture surrounding concussions in sports".
16. "Craig Fisher - Athletics Programs Advisor - Staff Directory".
17. "CCHA All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
18. "All-CCHA Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-07-27.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database