Quotes From New Head Coach Ryan Craig’s Intro Press Conference

The Golden Knights introduced the 5th head coach in franchise history, Ryan Craig, to the media today. Here are some of Craig’s best quotes from the press conference.

On being a first-time head coach in Las Vegas

I am ready. I believe I am ready for this. I am ready for this opportunity. I am grateful for it and ready to get to work. I feel that we have a very, very good hockey team and a very, very good city. We have a ton of great people in the organization and a lot of good hockey players. Nine years ago, we came here to the city of Las Vegas. We’ve been embraced. We call this place home, and I’m very, very proud to represent it.

On the coaches who have helped him get here

I have had the pleasure of being in the organization for nine years. It’s been a privilege to work with the guys that I’ve been able to work with and have been mentored by, starting with Gerard Gallant, Mike Kelly, Ryan McGill through Steve Spott, Pete DeBoer, Bruce Cassidy, Misha Donskov, and a number of others. It’s important that I acknowledge them because they’ve helped lay the groundwork for me to get to where I am today.

Being familiar with players in VGK organization

This is a unique situation in the sense that I am a first-time head coach, but I do know a lot of people in the room. I’ve won with guys in the room. That didn’t mean because I was an assistant coach, there weren’t tough conversations had, there wasn’t accountability held by myself with those guys, and the standards. So I am in a different chair now, but I do know that those guys in the room, there is a level of respect that we need to believe between all of us. And there is also a shared goal in the sense of trying to win a Stanley Cup.

On difference between being head coach and an assistant

On systems

It’s a unique situation in the sense that four days ago, these guys were competing for the Stanley Cup. What John Tortorella and his staff did over the last 70-plus days was amazing, to get within two wins of the Stanley Cup, to be that close. There are a lot of good things that they did here. John said that when he came in, he tweaked a couple of things and that was it. In 2023, we won with similar systems. I’ve coached it, I’ve lived it in Henderson, we ran similar systems. Our players know it, they believe in it, and there’s going to be a seamless transition. There will be some tweaks, but I’m excited to get with the group and put my stamp on them while continuing what’s been built here over the last few years.

On expectations

You don’t get the chance to win a Stanley Cup on day one. You have to build your team. This team has been built through standards since day one, and those standards aren’t going to change. When we talk about winning the Stanley Cup or competing for it, that’s the standard in this organization. As for expectations, we’re going to go about our business day in and day out with the goal of continuing to build, stack, and get better each and every day, so that we have an opportunity, when the calendar flips in mid-April, to compete for the trophy.

One non-negotiable the players must have

Competitiveness. That’s that’s what we have. The people that are brought into this organization love to compete, and that will drive our team in practice, that drives our team in games. It makes a team. That’s what it does. And this locker room here is full of leaders. It’s full of guys that have gone through the grind of seasons, the grind of Stanley Cup runs, and have had success. There is one common denominator, they are competitive and they like to win.

On faceoffs

Faceoffs are important. I believe in the details of the game. Faceoffs are a part of that. It’s one of the structured things, the only structured things. My faceoff philosophy is: we’ll have a plan when we win it, we’ll have a plan when we lose it. Our centers will be prepared. But it’s also one play in the game that we’ll be ready for, or react, and move on.

Who is Ryan Craig, the person?

I think my family. Starts with my wife and kids, my parents, our extended family. That represents who I am. That’s the easiest way I can say it. Very, very proud of my family. You hear my voice changes a little bit when I talk about them. But that’s who I am my family.