One of their own: Who is Ryan Craig, and why was he the choice to lead the Golden Knights?

LAS VEGAS — The moment felt different from the start.

Not just Ryan Craig’s smile, as he sat behind the microphone Thursday morning after being named the fifth coach in Vegas Golden Knights history, but those of his wife and three children in the back row. Even captain Mark Stone slipped into the room to watch it all unfold.

Craig was emotional at times, especially when discussing his family and how they’ve helped him along the way. For an organization more often associated with difficult decisions than sentimental moments, the scene felt strikingly different.

It’s a bold move to hire Craig, a 44-year-old first-time NHL head coach who only retired from playing in 2017. That part isn’t unusual for Vegas. But unlike many of the previous hires, which felt like business-driven swings for the biggest name available, this was a promotion from within. It rewarded someone who had risen through the organization.

Immediately upon retiring as a player, Craig joined the Golden Knights as an assistant coach. He was part of the inaugural season’s “Golden Misfits” squad that shocked the hockey world. He lifted the Stanley Cup alongside many of the current players in 2023. He’s one of their own, which is why Stone became the first player in franchise history to attend a coach’s introductory news conference, and why this bold swing by the Golden Knights and general manager Kelly McCrimmon feels noticeably different.

For McCrimmon, the decision doesn’t feel bold. He has known Craig since the new coach was 15, playing for the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings. McCrimmon was part-owner and general manager of the Wheat Kings at the time and brought Craig aboard early in Vegas.

“I’ve seen firsthand what he does to people around him,” McCrimmon said Wednesday. “Our organization, from day one, has always tried to hire the best people for their job, whether it’s our players or coaches. We’ve always hired the best available coach, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today. We’re hiring the best available coach that’s going to lead our organization.”

From the outside, it’s a bit of a shocking hire, especially considering John Tortorella, who just coached the team within two wins of a championship, wanted to return.

Craig has three years of head coaching experience: the last three seasons with the Golden Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. His track record is solid, but it certainly isn’t that of a young coaching prodigy who’s undeniably ready to be handed the keys to a Stanley Cup contender. The Silver Knights went 96-95-25 in three seasons under Craig. They improved their win total each year and qualified for the playoffs this past season.

But Craig has been preparing himself for this moment for a long time, and everyone inside the Golden Knights’ building believes he’s more than ready for it.

“I’m prepared,” Craig said. “Nine years of doing this. Even the last half of my (playing) career, I was hoping and planning to be a coach.”

Craig was always a leader in the dressing room, even as a player. He was captain of the Wheat Kings in major junior hockey. He played 198 games in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets, but he spent the majority of his playing career in the AHL. There, he served as a captain for nine seasons, for four teams.

“I’ve used the term, ‘Craiger has been 40 as long as I’ve known him,’” McCrimmon joked. “He had that presence and that air about him with people. He respects people, he commands respect. He’s a special guy.”

Late in Craig’s playing career, knowing he wanted to coach one day, he began keeping notes on coaches he played for.

“I started to keep a journal and built that through as I went through my experiences,” he said. “Things I liked as a player, but through the eyes of a coach.”

Craig is a sponge and has played for and coached alongside many greats. His first coach in the NHL was Tortorella. In 2016, he won a Calder Cup playing for current Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar with the then-Lake Erie Monsters. He has also played for John Hynes and Brad Larsen. In six seasons as an assistant coach in Vegas, he learned from head coaches Gerard Gallant, Peter DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy and veteran assistants Mike Kelly, Ryan McGill, Steve Spott and Misha Donskov.

Craig brought up all of their names in his opening statement Thursday, which speaks to a humble, gracious personality that should serve him well.

“It’s important that I acknowledge them because they’ve laid the groundwork for me to get to where I am today,” he said.

Craig was a forward and specialized in coaching the forwards during his time as an assistant coach. He’s an offensive-leaning coach who won’t make major overhauls to the systems the Golden Knights have run since Cassidy took over in 2022.

“I believe in what we’re doing here,” Craig said. “The players believe in it. They came two games away from winning the Stanley Cup. So there will be a few tweaks that happen, and I’ll get into that as I dig into our team throughout the summer.”

Craig ran the same system in Henderson for the last three seasons, and while he’ll certainly make his own adjustments, you can expect Vegas to play very similarly to how it has the last four seasons.

“In 2023, we won with similar systems,” Craig said. “So, I’ve coached it, I’ve lived it. … Our players know it. They believe in it. So there’s going to be a seamlessness in that transition. 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.”

It’s yet to be seen if Craig will be a strategic tactician like DeBoer and Cassidy or more of a motivator like Tortorella. In terms of his demeanor, he has his own style.

“I’ve used the quote over the last three years, from (Los Angeles Rams coach) Sean McVay, ‘You become the thermostat,’” Craig said. “You control the temperature of the room. Hot, cold, messaging … As a head coach, you go to bed every night thinking about what the message is, and wake up thinking about what the message is.”

Vegas is still going through the process of deciding what the assistant coaching staff will look like. There’s a chance Craig opts to bring back many, or all, of the assistants from this past season. He coached alongside defensive guru John Stevens and goalie coach Sean Burke for three years in Vegas.

Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme and skills coach Sean Ferrell joined after Craig left for Henderson, while assistant Joel Ward swapped places with Craig, moving up from Henderson when Craig went to coach the Silver Knights.

Hiring someone with no NHL head coaching experience is a high-risk move for a franchise clearly in win-now mode, but it’s noteworthy that Craig has plenty of experience on the Golden Knights bench. During his time as an assistant, he coached with more of a head coach’s demeanor, anyway.

“It doesn’t mean, just because I was an assistant coach, there weren’t tough conversations had,” he explained. “I’m in a different chair now, but I do know that with those guys in the room, there’s a level of respect, I believe, between all of us. There’s also a shared goal in the sense of trying to win a Stanley Cup.”

It may work out brilliantly. It may not. But one thing that was clear is the entire organization, from the players up to management, sees Craig as one of their own and are eager to follow his lead. As a coach, there’s still plenty to learn about Craig. As a person, it’s clear that he’s a humble, hard worker who is quick to show appreciation for others. Above all, he’s a family man. That was on full display Thursday, when he was asked to describe himself.

“Well, I think my family, starting with my wife and kids, my parents, our extended family, that represents who I am,” he said. “That’s the easiest way I can say it. I’m very, very proud of my family. You can hear my voice changes a little bit when I talk about them, but that’s who I am. My family, from my wife and kids, all the way through to my parents, my brother, my in-laws and my extended family. Everybody. That’s who I am.”