From being the only Black kid in town to surviving life on the street, Leafs alumn John Craighead’s road to The Show was an epic of courage and persistence.
From being the only Black kid in town to surviving life on the street, Leafs alumn John Craighead’s road to The Show was an epic of courage and persistence.
SHOW NOTES
Presented by Leafs Forever, Barrier Breakers is a mini-series about race, hockey and the way forward.
The show aims to celebrate Black players and fans who’ve broken barriers and helped change our game for the better.
Today’s episode tells the story of Leafs alumni John Craighead’s road to the NHL. Though he’d only play 5 regular season games for the Blue and White, John’s journey to the Show is an epic tale of courage and persistence. John overcame ignorance and intolerance from Day 1 – and he’s still fighting, now as an owner in the junior league where he got his break.
This is the second episode of Barrier Breakers. Future episodes will come out every week for the next five weeks. Subscribe to Leafs Forever and please write us a review.
Producer: Katie Jensen, Vocal Fry Studios
Writer: Scott Willats & Paul Matthews
Director of Production: Shawna Morrison
Executive Producer: Michael Gelfand
Associate Producers: Renita Bangert, Emily Latimer, Erika Dreher, Savanna Hamilton
SFX: The sound of coffee being poured into a coffee mug, of a sugar packet being opened, of a spoon stirring around the contents of that packet….
Scott Willats: A Cup of Coffee.
For whatever reason, that is the metaphor we in the hockey world use to define the shortest possible length of time a player might spend in the NHL. ‘He had a cup of coffee in the Show.’ That’s what we say. Whether that’s an espresso or an Extra Large Double Double, either way, we’re talking about a band of time between 1 and maybe 15 games.
So much of the storytelling in sports tends to be about the Stars. Record-holders. Champions. The Gretzkys, Howes, LeMieuxs, Guys who maybe even had signature drinks and dishes named after ‘em.
And as inspiring as it is to talk about the guys who logged 1,000 games or scored 500 goals or won three Cups. Sometimes, it’s just as interesting—in fact, maybe even more—to do a little digging to find the inspiring story of someone who fought like hell and defied all the odds - only to grace the league for, what? A week. Or maybe even less.
Val James. John Craighead. Grant Fuhr. Andre Deveaux. Robbie Earl. Jamal Mayers. Mark Fraser. Wayne Simmonds.
Eight Black players have donned the Blue and White in Leafs history. Today, we want to celebrate one of those men. Not one of the bigger names on the list either. In fact, one who only had a Cup of Coffee in the Show. Who only played five games for us. The third Black Leaf: John Craighead.
John ’s life has been an epic journey. This one’s got it all: dislocation, struggle, perseverance, and elation. And it ends where it began. Back in British Columbia - Junior B hockey, where John, an enforcer all his career, is still fighting. Most recently against the expulsion of his team from that same league. Yeah you heard me right, he owns his team. This episode’s a look at what has changed at the grassroots level, and what hasn’t. Buckle up. This is a good one. I’m Scotty Willats, and this is Barrier Breakers.
So just so you know, this story is about anti-Black racism, and racial slurs are an unfortunate part of that story, which means, you’re going to hear one of the strongest ones in this episode. So if you’re listening around young ears, just keep that in mind.
When John Craighead is a kid, the challenge begins. Because soon after his birth, John’s Scottish mother and his Black father break up. She moves John and his sister from Washington, D.C. to Sicamous, a resort town in Interior B.C. The Houseboat Capital of Canada. Population just over 3,000. There, she marries the man who would become John’s step-father. And he’s white.
John Craighead: My sister is colored and my-my mom's from Scotland. She's white and my stepdad was white. So obviously, everywhere we went, everybody obviously thought we were adopted. You know, the first few times, obviously, you know, you're excited to explain the situation and share the story.
But when it's consistent over and over and over again, over years and years and years, it does become a little bit hostile because you almost think as the- as the kid myself is, ‘Well you don't know. How do you don't know?’ People are making assumptions….or just jumping to conclusions, say, well, well, he must be adopted. Without, you know, actually knowing the details of it. Right?
I, basically, to be honest, I didn't like hockey. It was- It was cold and it was miserable. And that's kind of how I started. It was just you learned early- in an early age that was the national sport here in Canada. And if you wanted to kind of fit in with the kids, you know, whether it was in the summertime or the wintertime, you'd better have had a hockey stick in your hand. You know that all the kids got together and played street hockey together. You just wanted to be a part of it. That was the national sport.
As the years went on, I just kind of stuck with it. It was just one of those things. I wasn't overly talented at an early age. I played house hockey. We didn’t even have a rink in Sicamous, we actually had to drive to Enderby. And lo and behold, we rock it and put a petition in and the city got a rink and that was it. We didn't even have enough players to ice full teams. So we actually hardly practiced. We actually just played games the whole time because we had no time to practice. We, you know - some of us played at three different levels.
Scott Willats: I don’t know guys, Sicamous has got to hold some kind of a record for the most NHL players produced per capita. Think about it: Rob Flockhart, Cody Franson, Colin Fraser, Kris Beech and yeah, Shea Weber, the hardest slapshot in the game.
It just so happens that, one day, Sicamous’ patient zero for hockey, former Vancouver Canuck Rob Flockart, sets up a hockey school in town: ‘Flocky’s Hockey’ they call it. And one summer, Flocky brings in Leafs alumni, oh man, the good one, 27, Darryl Sittler and Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams.
John Craighead: And we had these little autograph cards that were actually really big at the time. There weren't like the little upper deck cards now, but I was going through the line and getting my card signed. And Tiger Williams reached out and grabbed my collar and said, ‘Hey, you look like a hockey player.’ And of course, I was all shy and stuff. I couldn’t have been more than seven years old or eight years old. And of course, I was blushing and kind of moved on and so forth.
And I remember that moment to this day for two reasons. One, I remember going back home and telling my parents, you know, that, ‘hey, you know, this guy said, I'm gonna be a hockey player and blah, blah, blah,’ you know, the influence that you have with kids at an early age. Of course, my parents at the time were like, wow, you know, kind of pump it up, pump it up. And lo and behold, fast forward twenty five years or twenty two years. And Tiger ended up being my agent, representing me with the Vancouver Canucks.
Scott Willats: Alright, imagine it. You’re a mixed-race kid in rural BC. You have white parents. You’ve pretty much stood out since you got there. And now somebody - a person who actually plays in the NHL - says “YOU LOOK LIKE A HOCKEY PLAYER, KID.” Done. He’s in. Because the second you believe it, you can be it.
And without that dedication and belief, it’s unclear if John will keep coming back to the rink.
Scott Willats: Did you ever pause and kind of question? Do I belong in the sport? Is this too much of a white sport for me? Was that ever thought?
John Craighead: Well, yeah, all the time. If you look at my junior career, I didn’t even play a hundred games of junior hockey. I quit several times. You know, due to being bullied and where I was in my life at that time as a teenager. It was pretty ruthless in the junior ranks locally here in the ‘80s and the ‘90s. ‘Where’s your basketball,’ you know, ‘this isn't your sport’ or, you know, ‘monkey’ or whatever. Just- they were just nasty. And I get it. I've got one of the nastiest tongues when it comes to chirping on the bench that you can ever imagine. It is. It is part of the game. But there is an unwritten law, you know, I mean, that there's certain things that you don't do.
Scott Willats: Hockey is declaring itself to be a place the young John Craighead might not be welcome. And then, just as his skin is beginning to thicken, another obstacle presents itself. One the game doesn’t really like to talk about: Money.
To make it big at anything, you’ve got to leave home. You’ve got to pack up your life and your dreams, and set out into the unknown. John knows he’ll need to leave Sicamous. He knows he’ll need to make a Junior B team to get noticed. But he’s broke. And when he gets to the big city, he got no place to stay. There are no billets for Junior B Hockey in BC.
You see, billeting is one of the social practices that makes Canada’s junior hockey program work. The whole system relies on host families in the community who welcome teenage athletes into their homes, year after year. These families are the unsung heroes of our country’s development system – at least the good ones are. They house and feed young players, supporting them like parents would, as they pursue their dreams.
After he graduated at 17, John wanted to keep his hockey dreams alive. He made a Junior B team, but Junior B hockey didn’t have a billeting program. Hockey ain’t cheap. And neither was rent. To stay focussed on his goals, John ended up living on the street.
John Craighead: At 17, I made a choice to leave the farm and, you know, make my way into the world... And it wasn't obviously as easy as anticipated. My sister had left the year prior. We're one year apart. And so we kind of just try to make our way in the local streets of BC, and try to get by. And, you know, she was a little tougher than I was and, you know, didn't seem to be having a problem. But for myself, I kind of struggled a little bit. And I was looking for a way out.
I was- I was out there for about a year and a half. And at that time, the only thing that I could think of is actually, you know, making a junior A team where I would actually get billeted and that's kind of where I started. I started with the New Westminster Royals, at the time. They gave me three games and I got traded to Ladner penguins and finished the season there.
Scott Willats: Obviously, living on the street isn’t something John loves to talk about. It’s the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. But in a strange way, it’s also the spur he needed. He doesn’t want to just make a Junior A team because it’ll help his chances of getting noticed. He wants one so he can have a roof over his head.
Once John gets into the Junior A ranks, his year and a half on the street finally earns him a karmic bump. Some Good Fortune. After a disappointing next season with the cellar-dwelling Surrey Eagles, John is traded to the first place Chilliwack Chiefs.
So John is 20 by this point. It’s the end of his junior career. Most of his peers have already been drafted or spit out by this point. He’s played in the BCJHL for 2 years, but he’s only played 28 games. No one is talking about John Craighead.
He hasn’t been drafted by an NHL club. He hasn’t made a splash. He’s done. The window is closed. But then, suddenly, it isn’t.
John Craighead: Eddie Beers was the coach out there. He said, we had a player we needed to shut down if we were going to have any success in the playoffs. So I was the guy to do it. So he actually moved me right into his house, at first. So I was living with him and the guy that we were trying to shut down is Paul Kariya.
Scott Willats: Just for context, in the 1991/92 season, playing for the Penticton Panthers, future Hall of Famer Paul Kariya has 112 points in 56 games. Exactly two points per game. He’s the best Junior player in the country that year. I mean, think about it. If you’re old enough to remember, he was an absolute gem on the World Juniors Team. To shut that kinda skating down – well let's say not many could do that. Buuuut John does. Plus, he’s over a point per game that season himself. How do you like that?
John Craighead: So we end up playing, you know, Paul Kariya in the playoffs. And every time he was on the ice, you know, Eddie would send me out and make sure that he didn't want to touch the puck. And lo and behold, you know, not knowing anything other than just to go out there and do my job, you know, an intimidation factor is a much bigger impact in the game then than nowadays. He actually had absolutely no interest in going out there and performing. And ironically, that's kind of how I got my first pro look actually in the minors is because there were so many scouts there to come and watch him. They were asking, who is this guy that’s, you know, shutting them down. Right. Like who’s this big bully or whatever. So then they talked to Eddie Beers and Eddie Beers, said I brought him in, ‘blah, blah. He's the real deal.’ And that's kind of how I got my first shot.
Scott Willats: Okay so, over the next few years, John starts racking up experience points as he pinballs through some of the most D-list teams in North American Minor Hockey. Here we go:
The West Palm Beach Blaze of the short-lived Sunshine Hockey League. One game for the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. Five for the Louisville Ice Hawks. Some time in Huntington, West Virginia with the Blizzard. And in Richmond, Virginia with the Renegades. I mean, John, I NEED to see this jersey collection. Then, finally, some stability, with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL, where John gets to play out two full, successful seasons. John is an Enforcer. A shutdown guy. Every night, he comes into the rink ready to drop his gloves. And he’s good. Good enough that, after two years in Detroit, there is an NHL interest. A few different teams pursue John. But, without an experienced agent to help assess the best fit – John just picks the team he remembered watching on TV as a kid: The Blue and White.
John Craighead: My stepdad was a religious Hockey Night in Canada advocate. And just to hear that song - I knew the Hockey Canada song better than I knew the Canadian anthem because it was like you just knew that like [sings] like it was just I guess you get chills as a kid. And then you see the people around you that loved it and believed it. And we'd watch Hockey Night in Canada. And then, lo and behold, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs every time. I had about three, four options I could have signed with. Soon as I heard the Toronto Maple Leafs. I thought, OK, for sure. My dad, you know, he's- he's not even going to believe this.
Scott Willats: Okay, so John signs a minor league deal with the Leafs. But he’s still pinching himself, he can’t believe it’s real. And when he gets a call from the Baby Leafs in St. John’s, all the way up to the big show in Toronto, he’s completely blindsided.
John Craighead: And when I signed and got called up for the first time I was in Hamilton, I had fought Dennis Bonvie and got lucky. And, you know, the guy was one of the toughest kids that I fought, especially in the minors. And one of the lucky ones to kind of give me a little bit of a knee buckle. And right after the game, I don't even know if we had won or not. I got called out into the hallway and the trainer said, ‘I am packing your shit. You and Kelly Fairchild are going to the show.’ And I'm like, like, ‘well, what do you mean?’ Because I was so caught off guard, I wasn't mentally prepared. I just had, I think, seven fights in eight games. And then one of my eyes were shut, my hands just looked like they went through a meat grinder. I wasn't on top of my game. I thought, oh, wow. Like, you know, how am I going to be able to even perform? You know what I mean? But that was the time. You guys would probably remember the clock had fell in Buffalo, in a back to back with Toronto in Buffalo the night before. And Nick Kypreos broke his ankle that night. They played them again the following night and knew it was going to be a battle. So, you know, they were obviously looking to pull all muscle in the lineup and they had called me up. And that was actually my first NHL game on the road in Buffalo. And I had, you know, it was, you know, surreal, like, you know, like any kid, you know, you you can't even believe it's happening. Like you want your whole world and all the haters and the doubters to see you in that moment to say, ‘hey, you know, I told you I could do it. I mean, like I knew I could be able to prove you wrong’… the trainer in Toronto had asked me, ‘what number do you want to wear?’ And I said, ‘well, you know, I'm wearing number 44 right now.’ And he's like ‘44, are you kidding me? Only superstars wear 44 in the National Hockey League. And you're gonna have to pick a different number, you're gonna have to pick a different number.’ I'm like, ‘oh, no, no, no, I didn't- I didn't mean I was- you know, you asked me what number I was wearing. I'm only wearing 44. I'll take whatever number you got.’ He goes, ‘Well, I'll figure something out.’ Right. Well, lo and behold I walk in the dressing room. And there's my jersey in between Gilmour and Sundin, number 44. As a tough guy. You know, I just about had a total meltdown. Like, you know, everything flashed before my eyes in that moment. And I thought, oh, my God. Like, it was unbelievable. And I remember putting that jersey- getting dressed, put the jersey on and I went to the bathroom to make it look like I had to go to the bathroom.
And I stood in the mirror and I looked in the mirror and I literally just started crying. I could not believe the road that I had traveled has put me in a dressing room and wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey for my first NHL game. And I'll never forget that moment, too. I mean, all the pain and the suffering and the bullying and the horrible things that happened to you when you’re a kid, they just are worth it when you can prove not only to everybody else that you had what it takes, but also to prove yourself that, ‘hey, listen, you I mean, you are something, you can believe in yourself.’
Scott Willats: Okay, It’s official. John has done it. After everything he’d been through. The prejudice. The living on the street. The bouncing around the minors. He’s finally made it to the Show. Wearing the jersey he grew up watching on TV.
And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about - isn’t it? John’s time would go down as a Cup of Coffee. 5 games. No points. 10 penalty minutes. But it’s the journey…The depth of determination, passion and inspiration made him the man he is. Plus, well. You know…there are those penalty minutes.
Scott Willats: Well, it may be a cup of coffee. But I remember very vividly you going toe to toe with Donald Brashear. That was probably scary.
John Craighead: Hockey Night in Canada on my birthday, my first NHL game at home in Maple Leaf Gardens. It was a dream come true. You know, at the end of the day, basically, you know, just like any unwritten rule, you know your role when you get in there.
And it was kind of funny. We had the pregame skate with Domi and he took me for a pregame lunch and for my birthday or whatever. Said, we'll see you tonight. It's going to be a great one playing against your hometown team tonight in Canada. Blah blah blah. So I don't think I slept a wink. To be honest with you. And then you went to the rink and now, you know, fast forward into the game. You know, Donald Brashear takes a run at Sedin, kind of clips him mean.
...Somebody comes to bench, you know, obviously very upset. So line change, they sent Domi and I over the boards and Domi gives me a pat on the butt like, ‘Show ‘em why you're here, big fella.’ So I was like, ‘OK. Apparently I'm taking this one.’ And, you know, in the beginning, he actually didn't want anything to do with it. He would just say ‘no, I'm not fighting a rookie. I mean, you earn your stripes, blah, blah, blah.’ And I just didn't let up. And, you know, regardless of whether he outweighed me by 50 pounds or not, we're there to do a job and entertain the fans and protect our club. So I try to represent the best I could and got through it. Still talk about it. My friends bug me about it all the time.
Scott Willats: Two years later, John packs up and heads to Germany, playing with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers and the Revier Lions. That’s where he says he encounters the worst racism of all.
John Craighead: I think I experienced the most racism in Europe, to be honest with you, when I played in Germany. But you get so used to it, especially after coming through the junior ranks. You know, because it was pretty ruthless.
Scott Willats: In 2002, he takes another shot at the NHL, securing a contract with the Vancouver Canucks, and putting in a year with their farm team, the Manitoba Moose. But it isn’t meant to be. By 2005, he hangs up his skates. But John is still in the game - as an owner and coach. Not at the pro level, but back where his own story started: junior hockey. And the struggles he encountered as a youth in the BCHL; well they’ve just been reborn, this time, in a different form.
John Craighead: I own a team in the league where there were three owners still in this league. They were on the bench 30 years ago when their bench was making racial slurs. And 30 years later, I'm- and I'm sitting at a board of governors table as an owner in the league, looking across a table at them. And still to this day, dealing with that kind of mentality.
…I just went through a five year lawsuit with my- my franchise and my organization that had a major colour barrier and racial part of it, where I actually finally stood up and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ I went through everything from being pulled from my- my president is no longer president, that ‘we don't want your kind here,’ to have my- my in my arena spray painted ‘eff you, *****’ having death threats to my family and my children with racial slander, not getting the backing and support from my league when I reached out and I- you know, I stood up for myself in the business side of it and- and one, you know, at the end of the day, it can't be told this battle's been going on for four decades and people standing up and fighting for themselves for decades.
Scott Willats: The incident John refers to is a complicated one to pick apart. It takes place in 2015. His team, the Surrey Knights, is based in Langley. A brawl breaks out between them and the Mission City Outlaws. While that brawl is transpiring, John confronts the opposing team’s coach on their bench. He’s fearful that his players are in danger. In the end, several of those players are sent to hospital, and an altercation occurs between the coaches that results in John being given a 6-year suspension by BC Hockey. That suspension is later cut down to 3 years, but then PJHL attempts to expel the Knights from the League.
In 2018, the Supreme Court of British Columbia sides with the Knights, saying “the conduct of the PJHL, in targeting the team, in addition to other failures, was unfairly prejudicial.” It’s clear that the Governors were going after John directly.
Here’s Amar Gill, John’s co-owner.
Amar Gill: And we're sitting in the boardrooms there and talking about hockey philosophies and and discussions and how the other leagues are progressing, what not. He wasn't given a lot of time because we- we heard it was almost like they're not going to listen to him because I- for I know I don't want to say because of our, you know, we're- we're two ethnic owners are sitting there owning a hockey team and. Was it their way or the highway or was it because there were the Governors in all they've been around for 30 years, 20 years, 10 years.
But I mean, yeah, we weren't given a lot of time. John wasn't giving a lot of time to talk about his experiences, which I was like, ‘Wow, this guy's a professional, why wouldn’t you want to listen to him? He’s the only guy in this room that played pro, he made a career at it.’ Only one. And the craziest thing is, he played in the same league, the coach. So he played in the league. He went out, made a career at it. It came back. And now he owns the team. How cool is that story? Like, you should advertise that. Did they ever advertise it? No. Never advertised it. It just blows my mind.
But, of course, it all came to a head when we went through our hockey stuff and suspensions and what not. Then it was as clear as day why the president was so standoffish, why the owners were so standoffish. They wanted us out eventually, right. And then I would hear some stuff. One of the owners did say one time, ‘I told you guys not to vote them in.’ I heard it, I actually heard it in a board meeting before they kicked me out. I'm not allowed in them either. Now, we're still to this day not allowed in those meetings.
Scott Willats: At no point does John claim he did the right thing on the bench that day. He was emotional, he was also scared for his players. But the treatment he and his partner and their team have received since then… Well, to them, it feels like some of the same prejudice John ran into as a teen. Still, John is optimistic. Despite the team’s struggles off and on the ice, he’s hopeful about the kids in his program and for the way the game is changing.
John Craighead: My partner's east Indian… we have the most interracial mixed hockey team, probably in western Canada. Because we believe a sport, you know, should be shared with everybody. It shouldn't be picked because your- colour of your skin or so forth, you should be picked for the love of the game, and your heart, and your willingness to succeed and live a dream just like everybody else. And I think it's coming. It's come a long way. You ask any kids on my junior team what the three rules of the Surrey Knights are, and they would say number one is to have fun. You know, if you're not having fun, I mean, you shouldn't do it. Change it. Doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter if it’s course, class, work, education, you know, a relationship or whatever it is. If you're not having fun, you know, change it. And number two is to never give up, regardless of how hard it is. And, you know, if you have a belief and a desire to do something, then you live your dream regardless of the trials and tribulations. You know, these roads and these walls that are put in front of you are meant to be climbed to see if you can, you know, you see if you got what it takes to get to the glory land. And I think that keeping that in perspective and keeping that at the forefront will keep you going. And the number three rule is to be true to the game. I mean, when you're true to the game, the game will be true to you. And that's not just the game, a hockey game, a life, education, relationship. You see all these things that happen to people, whether they're positive or negative, it has a lot to do with their, you know, their own commitment to the game. And I think if you keep it simple and yet you do what's right in the long haul, you'll come out on top.
Scott Willats: Through all the hard knocks he faced; the bullying, the doubting, the prejudice – John never once lost faith in hockey itself. For him, there was and remains a very real dividing line between prejudiced people in and around the game. You can fight the people, and try to challenge the culture. But the game itself, it’s great. In fact, that’s what makes the fights so important. Because it’s incumbent on all of us who do love the game to ensure everyone has the chance to discover it. To fall in love with hockey the way John Craighead did. A love that – despite everything he’s faced – has never gone away.
This has been your second episode of Barrier Breakers, our look at the amazing Black players and individuals who have changed our game for the better. We hope you’re finding the journey as entertaining, thought-provoking and essential as we are. A very special thank you to number 44 -- John Craighead, thank you for sharing your story and love of the game with us. As well as his partner in the Surrey Knights, Amar Gill.
‘Barrier Breakers’ was co-created by us here at Leafs Forever and Akil Augustine. Today's episode was written by myself and Paul Matthews, produced by Katie Jensen and Vocal Fry Studios for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Further thanks to Associate Producers Renita Bangert, Emily Latimer, Erika Dreher and Savanna Hamilton.
If you liked the episode, tell people about it. And write us a review. Your feedback is always welcome. Especially on this series. Help us think about this issue in new and interesting ways, and if you have story suggestions for the types of things we should be talking about, well let me know.
I am Scott Willats. And until next time, as forever, Go Leafs Go.