Craig Hillier is a former professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

. He was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

 in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft

1996 NHL Entry Draft

The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996.- Selections by round :Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.- Round one :- Round two :...

.

Career

Hillier started playing as a goaltender when he was six years old. He found his cousin's equipment and thought "how cool it was" to play goaltender

After four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League

Ontario Hockey League

The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....

 with the Ottawa 67's

Ottawa 67's

The Ottawa 67’s are a junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. They have played in the Ontario Hockey League since 1967, Canada's centennial year. The current coach is Chris Byrne.-History:...

, Hillier turned pro in 1998. Hillier made his professional debut against the then-Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 in a preseason game as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in September 1998. Hillier initially started the game as the backup goaltender, but the starting goaltender was injured several minutes into the game. Hillier lost his debut at Joe Louis Arena by the score of 3-2. Shortly after, Hillier was re-assigned to Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate in Syracuse

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

, where he was immediately placed into the role of starting goaltender.

He then played in the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

, playing for four different teams in two seasons, playing for the Johnstown Chiefs

Johnstown Chiefs

The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1988 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when that league was formed...

, Charlotte Checkers, Toledo Storm

Toledo Storm

The Toledo Storm was a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the southern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors were red and white, similar to the Detroit Red Wings,...

 and the Wheeling Nailers

Wheeling Nailers

The Wheeling Nailers are an ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL....

. Hillier then had a spell in Holland before returning to North America, playing in the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 for the Columbus Stars

Columbus Stars

The Columbus Stars were a minor league professional ice hockey team that folded before the midway point of their inaugural season, of 2004, in the United Hockey League due to economic problems. The Stars had 21 home games, which drew only an average of 973 people per game, the lowest of all minor...

 and in the Central Hockey League

Central Hockey League

The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 with the Corpus Christi Rayz

Corpus Christi Rayz

The Corpus Christi IceRays were a minor-league ice hockey team based in Corpus Christi, Texas affiliated with the Central Hockey League. The "IceRays" moniker derives from the many different species of stingrays who inhabit the nearby Gulf of Mexico....

 before retiring in 2004.

Personal

Hillier has returned to the Halifax area since his retirement and is involved in several ventures. He and Brad MacCharles are the founding partners of Outlaws Goaltending, a goaltending camp based in the Halifax area. Hillier has also started his own real estate company that has been in operation since 2005. During the 2009-10 season, Hillier was also the goaltending coach for the Saint Mary's Huskies Women's Hockey Team, helping them to their first Conference championship in 6 years, which also led them to play in the national AUHC tournament

OHL

• 1995-96 1st Team All-Star
• 1995-96 Goaltender Of The Year
• 1996-97 Dave Pinkney Trophy (Lowest Team GAA
  Goals against average
  Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender....
  
  
• 1997-98 Dave Pinkney Trophy (Lowest Team GAA)
• 1997-98 Lowest Individual GAA

External links