FanPost

What You Probably Didn't Know About.................Craig Conroy

Hey guys.  My apologies for not posting a write up for the Flyers game.  One of my best friends was over Saturday night for a few drinks and stayed to watch the game the next day.  He likes his Flyers and his booze and is quite the mouth piece about his team (no surprise) so I had lots to endure over that 24 hour period, let alone having to listen to him chirping if I attempted to write about someone on his team.  Anyways, this game's drawing drew a player that I have always admired in Craig Conroy.  Thank god I never drew Jokinen for if I had, I wouldn't be so eager to write anything about a guy who is notorious for lighting us up from his days in the sunshine state.

 

 

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Craig Conroy

 

 

1.  He posted 164 pts in 140 games over 4 seasons with the Clarkson Golden Knights of the ECAC

 

2.  He grew up cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the same team that would eventually draft him 123rd overall in the 6th Rd of 1990.  This was also the same year of our first Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh.

 

3.  He only played in 13 games over his first 2 NHL seasons with the Canadiens before they sent him packing for St. Louis in Oct 96.  He played 5+ yrs in St. Lou before being traded to the Flames in 2001.  His first full yr in CGY, he put up career highs in G,A and Pts.  (27,48 and 75)  He hasn't matched or eclipsed this total since.

 

4.  His favorite player to play against in the league was former Red Wing Captain Stevie Y.....love that guy too.

 

5.  An interesting story I found here about Conroy's first day on the ice as a rookie for the Canadiens, and how he supposedly ticked off Patrick Roy which ultimately led to his demotion to the juniors shortly after.

 

This is from Steve MacFarlane of the Calgary Sun,

    Craig Conroy twice experienced the wrath of Patrick Roy.

    On his first day on the ice as a rookie with the Montreal Canadiens, a high shot in warmup brought about a confrontation with the Hall-of-Fame goaltender…

    “It was actually my very first day on the ice. Patrick was on my team for the scrimmage,” said Conroy, who was a little excited in warmup and watched his first shot at Roy get away from him.

    “It kept rising and hit him in the head. He kind of stopped everything, cleared off his crease, then he came out and actually punched me in the head with his blocker.

    “I thought, ‘What do I do?’ He’s Patrick Roy. I’m just nobody. I didn’t throw any punches or anything. I just kind of took it and they broke it up. I was sent down (to the AHL Fredericton Canadiens) pretty soon after that.”

 

Funny stuff I must say.

 

6.  He was a finalist for the Lady Byng and Selke Awards in 97/98 and lost out to Ronnie Franchise and Jere Lehtinen respectively.

 

7.  He is good friends with current MLB free agent Jim Edmonds from his days of playing with the Blues.

 

8.  Poor guy must have a heck of a time at home in the off-season raising his 3 daughters.  His oldest daughter Taylor is almost 12 and he is gonna be 38......does this mean he is gonna retire just in time to raise 3 teenage daughters??  Good Luck with that buddy.

 

9.  I had to throw in this beauty of a goal that he scored in Gm 7 of the Finals against Tampa.  Top Shelf. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKZApk

 

10.  And finally, Conroy is a +1 with 4 pts (3+1) in 13 career games against us.

 

There you have it, edition number 5.  I'm really enjoying doing this not to mention all the good, and sometimes bad, feedback. Thx Guys

 

Sources:  NHL.com, Legendsofhockey.com, calgaryherald.com, youtube.com

The content expressed in fanposts does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff here at Pensburgh.com. FanPosts are opinions expressed by fans of various teams throughout the league but may be more Pittsburgh-centric for obvious reasons.