Ryan Craig arrives in Vegas ready for first NHL training camp as head coach

# Overview Ryan Craig is the new head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights and will lead the team into training camp that opens Sept. 16. The job follows nine years of coaching development — six seasons as an NHL assistant and three as an AHL head coach — and a 14-year playing career during which he was often a team captain.

# What Craig brings Craig describes himself as prepared and focused on hockey. He spent his playing career viewed as a leader — wearing the captaincy in multiple locker rooms — and has coached across professional levels. That combination underpins how he views leadership now: clear standards, consistent messaging, and decisions shaped by lived experience.

He has a close relationship with the Golden Knights' front office leadership, including general manager Kelly McCrimmon, and he frames that alignment as an advantage for communication and decision-making inside the organization.

# Preparations before camp Craig lists two practical priorities for his summer work. First is the expected technical preparation: assembling video, building the team's tactical package, and deciding how the Golden Knights will play. Second is player connection: conversations with individuals about role expectations and how they fit into the team's plan.

# Leadership and messaging Craig says the daily reality of being a head coach changes how you approach messaging. Experience in an AHL head-coaching role exposed him to the full cycle: winning streaks, losing streaks, and the constant decisions that shape a locker-room culture. He frames messaging not as slogans but as consistent, actionable standards that guide player behavior and performance.

His office setup is spare: a grease board with a potential lineup, a few quotations, family photos, and a clean desk. That minimalism reflects a practical focus on preparation rather than flourish.

# Context inside the club

# Immediate next steps Training camp begins Sept. 16. In the coming weeks Craig will finalize tactical plans, continue player conversations, and install the culture he expects the team to embody on and off the ice. His stated objective is straightforward: get to work and make the team ready to compete.

# Bottom line Craig brings a mix of recent head-coaching experience, long-term NHL assistant work, and a playing background defined by leadership. He has spent the offseason on both the technical and personal preparations he considers essential and enters camp with existing relationships inside the club and a focus on clear messaging and standards.