Craig Conroy

Craig Michael Conroy (born September 4, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

A sixth-round selection of the Montreal Canadiens at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Conroy played 1,009 NHL games for the Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings during a professional career that spanned from 1994 to 2011.

He enrolled at Clarkson in 1990 and played four seasons for the school.

Conroy was selected in the sixth round, 123rd overall, at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

During his junior season of 1992–93, Conroy scored two goals in a 5–3 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) semi-final to help lead his team to the conference championship game.

Conroy reached 100 career points with the goals, joining his father Mike as the only such pair in Clarkson's history to reach that milestone.

Conroy and the Golden Knights then won the ECAC title with a 3–1 victory over Brown University.

The Golden Knights made Conroy a co-captain in his senior year of 1993–94.

He led the ECAC in scoring with 66 points and was named to the conference's First All-Star Team, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) First All-Star Team and the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.

He was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as top player in the NCAA, finishing second to Chris Marinucci.

He turned professional in 1994 upon completing his college career at Clarkson.

At his first day of his first training camp with Montreal, he got into a fight with the team's star goaltender, Patrick Roy, after striking the latter with a slap shot in practice.

He spent the majority of the 1994–95 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Fredericton Canadiens, scoring 26 goals and 44 points in 55 games.

He appeared in six games for Montreal that year.

He played his first NHL game on February 15, 1995, against the Hartford Whalers, and scored his first goal one night later against the New York Rangers.

Though he was an offensive star at Clarkson and Fredericton, the Canadiens sought to convert him to a defensive specialist in the NHL.

While he averaged over one point per game with Fredericton in 1995–96, Conroy again played only a handful of games with Montreal.

He again began 1996–97 in the AHL, but was traded along with Pierre Turgeon and Rory Fitzpatrick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Murray Baron, Shayne Corson and a draft pick on October 29, 1996.

Conroy appeared in five games with the Worcester IceCats in the AHL, but after earning a recall to St. Louis, established himself as a regular in the NHL and appeared in 61 games with the Blues that season.

Head Coach Joel Quenneville worked to develop Conroy's abilities as a defensive forward and top faceoff specialist.

Conroy responded in 1997–98 by improving to 43 points and a career-high plus-minus rating of +20.

In recognition of his season, he was named a finalist for both the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as its most gentlemanly player.

Conroy remained one of the League's top defensive forwards in 1998–99.

While he missed several games with a high ankle sprain, he scored his first career hat-trick on February 26, 1999, against the Calgary Flames and finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting that season.

He faced a difficult season in 1999–2000, however, as Joel Quenneville adopted a new strategy that abandoned the concept of a checking line.

Conroy struggled at both ends of the ice, and frequently found his ice time limited as a result.

He finished the season with just 27 points.

Looking to improve their team for a playoff run in 2000–01, the Blues dealt Conroy, along with a draft pick, to the Calgary Flames for Cory Stillman.

The trade was initially unpopular in Calgary, as the Flames had given up their leading scorer for Conroy, who noted that that was when he "learned not to read the papers or watch TV."

Opinion of the deal shifted considerably the following season as Conroy established himself as the Flames' first line center alongside Jarome Iginla.

The pair developed good chemistry and became strong friends.

Internationally, he twice played with the United States National Team – at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Developed as a defensive specialist through much of his career, Conroy was twice a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward, and was nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as its most gentlemanly player.

He played over 1,000 games in the NHL and was the second-oldest player in League history to reach that milestone.

Conroy, who enjoyed his greatest offensive seasons with the Flames, is a former captain of the team and was twice honored by the organization for his leadership, dedication and humanitarian efforts.

An only child, Conroy was born and raised in Potsdam, New York.

He attended high school at Northwood School.

His father Mike played minor league hockey for the Syracuse Blazers and at the age of four years Conroy served as the team's mascot prior to games.

Conroy followed in the footsteps of his father and two uncles in playing hockey at Clarkson University for the Golden Knights.

His Clarkson jersey (number 7) was retired in a ceremony prior to a game against College of Holy Cross on October 20, 2012, in which he and his family attended.