Township of Langley, BC, Tuesday, January 22, 2013: The Langley Rivermen Junior “A” Hockey Club is pleased to announce the commitment of forward Darien Craighead (1997 born) for the 2013-2014 season.
Craighead currently plays for the Valley West Hawks of the BC Major Midget League and has recorded 16 goals and 12 assists in 30 games to date.
“We have been pretty close with their family for a number of years and it has given me plenty of opportunity to watch Darien play. He has put in a lot of hard work in the last couple of years and we believe he is on the right track of becoming an elite player,” said Rivermen Head Coach and General Manger Bobby Henderson.
His last name may sound familiar as his father John played over 600 games in pro hockey spanning from the American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, and in the European leagues. He even suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996-1997. John’s career got started in the BCHL with the New Westminster Royals back in 1990-1991.
“It is one of those things where we believe in bloodlines. If you just watch Darien play you can very much tell he has had great coaching and guidance from his father. Just by talking to him you notice right away he is willing to learn and is a student of the game,” said Henderson.
Craighead, a Surrey native, is a right winger that stands at 5’10”, 150 pounds and does not turn 16 until March 7th.
“I am very excited about becoming a member of the Rivermen. I have practiced with them a couple of times this year and being around that type of environment was really neat and it has always been a dream of mine to play for Langley,” said Craighead.
Asked what kind of player he is, Craighead described himself as a playmaker, although this year for the first time in a while he has more goals than assists,
“I think I can see the ice fairly well out there and can shoot the puck pretty good for the most part. For me I am used to putting up assists, but this year has been different and the puck has been going in more.”
As for aspirations in a Rivermen uniform, Craighead had more than just one thing in mind,
“I hope to win a couple of championships first and foremost, but if I can get an N.C.A.A. Scholarship out of it as well that would be nice to.”
The Rivermen have two home games coming up this weekend. The ‘Men take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks at 7:15 PM on Friday, January 25th, and will host the Trail Smoke Eaters on Sunday, January 27th at 2:00 PM. Both games are at the Langley Events Centre and tickets can be purchased at www.langleyrivermen.com or by calling 604-882-8800.
