Craig Cunningham

Craig Cunningham
Born	September 13, 1990 (1990-09-13) (age 21) Trail, BC, CAN
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Boston Bruins
NHL Draft	97th overall, 2010 Boston Bruins
Playing career	TBD–present

Craig Cunningham (born September 13, 1990) is a Canadian ice hockey centre with the Boston Bruins organization of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won a Memorial Cup with the Giants in his rookie WHL season and was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team in 2010. Cunningham was drafted 97th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Cunningham was drafted into the Western Hockey League (WHL) 129th overall by the Vancouver Giants in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft.^[1] He began his major junior career with the Giants in 2006–07, recording five assists over 48 games as a rookie. He then appeared in 15 WHL playoff games en route to a President's Cup and Memorial Cup with the Giants as WHL and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champions. Over the next two seasons, he improved to 25- and 50-point campaigns.

Eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Cunningham went unselected.^[2] He was subsequently invited by the New York Rangers on a tryout basis to their 2009 Traverse City Prospects Tournament.^[3][4]

Entering his fourth WHL season with the Giants in 2009–10, Cunningham quickly moved up the Giants depth chart as teammates Evander Kane and James Wright made their respective NHL teams.^[5] He was placed on the top line centring team captain Lance Bouma and Brendan Gallagher.^[5] Finishing the season with a junior career-high 37 goals and 97 points, he was first in team scoring and sixth among league scorers.^[6] He was nominated for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year, losing to Eastern Conference nominee Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats.^[1][7] Cunningham was also named to the WHL West First All-Star Team as a unanimous selection, along with Giants teammate Kevin Connauton.^[8]

In game two of the opening round of the 2010 WHL playoffs, Cunningham recorded a five-point game (two goals and three assists) in a 6–3 win over the Kamloops Blazers.^[9] Two days later, on March 22, 2010, he was named the WHL Player of the Week, finish with four goals and seven points in two games.^[10] Two weeks later, on April 5, he received his second Player of the Week honour with three goals and three assists in the first two games of the second round against the Portland Winterhawks.^[11] The Giants advanced to the semifinals against the Tri-City Americans, but lost in six games. Cunningham finished the playoffs with 12 goals and 24 points over 16 games.

Returning to junior, he was chosen as the Giants' new team captain. Leading up to the WHL trade deadline, Cunningham was, however, struggling;^[12] on December 28, 2010, he was traded to the Portland Winterhawks along with a sixth round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft in exchange for Spencer Bennett, Teal Burns, a first round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft and a second round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft. He quickly became a fan favorite in Portland earning himself the nickname "The Hamster" due to his small stature but tenacious spirit and leadership on the ice.^[13] He left the Giants as the team's all-time leader in regular season games played with 295.^[12]

Boston Bruins

Cunningham was ranked 108th among North American prospects for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (his second draft-eligible year) by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.^[14] He was drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) by the Boston Bruins. On July 14, 2011, Cunningham signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins. ^[15]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006–07	Vancouver Giants	WHL		48	0	5	5	38		15	0	1	1	15
2007–08	Vancouver Giants	WHL		67	11	14	25	72		10	1	2	3	6
2008–09	Vancouver Giants	WHL		72	28	22	50	62		17	5	9	14	12
2009–10	Vancouver Giants	WHL		72	37	60	97	44		16	12	12	24	12
2010–11	Vancouver Giants	WHL		36	10	35	45	31		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Portland Winterhawks	WHL		35	17	25	42	25		21	7	14	21	12
WHL totals				330	103	161	264	272		79	25	45	70	57

Awards

• WHL West First All-Star Team – 2010^[8]
• WHL Player of the Week – March 14–21 and March 28 – April 4, 2010^[10][11]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Craig Cunningham named WHL Western Conference Player of the Year". Western Hockey League. 2010-04-15. http://whl.ca/craig-cunningham-named-whl-western-conference-player-of-the-year-p142108. Retrieved 2010-04-16. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Adam Kimmelman (2009-10-10). "Connolly stands out among WHL's draft prospects". National Hockey League. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=501646. Retrieved 2010-04-17. 
3. ^ "Craig Cunningham". New York Rangers. http://rangers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=53082. Retrieved 2010-04-02. 
4. ^ "Rangers taking 22 prospects to Traverse City". New York Rangers. 2009-08-24. http://rangers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?bcid=486930. Retrieved 2010-04-02. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Jeff Paterson (2009-12-17). "Fast rising Craig Cunningham leads Giants to the net". Georgia Straight. http://www.straight.com/article-275161/vancouver/fastrising-cunningham-leads-giants-net. Retrieved 2010-04-02. 
6. ^ "Top Scorers – 2009–10 Regular Season – All Players". Western Hockey League. http://whl.ca/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_scorers&subType=0&season_id=234&league_id=26&lastActive=&confId=0. Retrieved 2010-04-02. 
7. ^ "Regina's Eberle named WHL player of the year". The Sports Network. 2010-04-28. http://tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=319807. Retrieved 2010-04-28. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "WHL Announces 2009–10 Conference Award Finalists and All-Star Teams". Western Hockey League. 2010-03-18. http://whl.ca/whl-announces-2009-10-conference-all-star-teams-and-award-finalists-p141493. Retrieved 2010-03-29. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Steve Ewen (2010-03-21). "Vancouver sails past Kamloops". The Province. http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Vancouver+sails+past+Kamloops/2708379/story.html. Retrieved 2010-04-02. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ ^{a b} "Vancouver Giants' Craig Cunningham Named Boston Pizza WHL Player of the Week". OurSports Central. 2010-03-22. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3978636. Retrieved 2010-04-02. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Giants' Craig Cunningham Named Boston Pizza WHL Player of the Week". Western Hockey League. 2010-04-05. http://whl.ca/giants-craig-cunningham-named-boston-pizza-whl-player-of-the-week-p141881. Retrieved 2010-04-05. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ ^{a b} "'I'm excited to go to a top team,' Cunningham says of trade to Winterhawks". The Province (Vancouver: Postmedia Network). 2010-12-28. http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=4033863&sponsor=. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 
13. ^ "Winterhawks Acquire Cunningham from Giants". Western Hockey League. http://www.whl.ca/article/winterhawks-acquire-cunningham-from-giants. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 
14. ^ "2010 CSB Final Rankings". The Sports Network. http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=20273. Retrieved 2010-04-16. 
15. ^ "Bruins sign McQuaid to three-year contract extension". Fox News. 2011-07-14. http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/07/14/bruins-sign-mcquaid-to-three-year-contract-extension/. 

External links

• Craig Cunningham's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
• Craig Cunningham's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Craig Cunningham's WHL profile

Persondata
Name	Cunningham, Craig
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian ice hockey player
Date of birth	September 13, 1990
Place of birth	Trail, BC, CAN
Date of death
Place of death