Craig Billington
Craig Billington ( born September 11, 1966 in London, Ontario ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and current - functionary, who in his active years from 1983 to 2003 among others for the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals played in the National Hockey League.
- 2.1 International
Career
Craig Billington began his career as a hockey player for the Belleville Bulls, for to 1986 he was active from 1983 in the Canadian top junior league Ontario Hockey League. In the season 1984/85 he was elected to the first All -Star team in the league and won the Bobby Smith Trophy as a player, the athletic and academic success at best united. In his time with the Belleville Bulls, he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 1984 in the second round than a total of 23 players from the New Jersey Devils. For New Jersey he gave during the 1985/86 season his debut in the National Hockey League. In his rookie year, he was in 18 games in the NHL on the ice. In the following four years he was only occasionally with the New Jersey Devils between the posts, while he mainly ran aground for their farm team Maine Mariners and Utica Devils in the American Hockey League. In the 1990/91 season, he participated in the preparation for the A World Championship with Team Canada. There he was able to convince, and he regularly ran aground two years for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Good performance earned him a nomination for the NHL All-Star Game in 1993.
In June 1993, Billington was submitted along with Troy Mallette and a fourth- round option for the NHL Entry Draft in 1993 in exchange for Peter Sidorkiewicz to the Ottawa Senators. The Senators, who had only a year earlier included the operation of gambling, he could not convince particularly in the 1993/94 season as the rest of the team and had 63 games in a Gegentorschnitt of 4:59 per game. In the shortened because of a lockout season 1994/95 he was only nine times for Ottawa between the posts, but could again have only one Gegentorschnitt of 4.07. Shortly before the end of the season he was therefore transferred within the NHL with the Boston Bruins, with whom he came in the 1995/96 season as a backup goalkeeper to 27 inserts. He was then obliged by reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, where he made three years of reliable service as a substitute goalkeeper. Most recently, he appeared from 1999 to 2003 for the Washington Capitals, before he ended his active career at the age of 36 years.
Since 2009, Billington has worked as Assistant General Manager for the Colorado Avalanche.
Internationally
For Canada Billington took part in the U20 World Junior Championships in 1985 and 1986. In the 1985 U20 World Championships he won the gold medal with his team and was also named the best goalkeeper of the tournament. In the 1986 U20 World Championships, he won the silver medal with Canada. In addition, he was in his country's squad at the 1991 World Championships, where he won the silver medal with his team.