Craig Berube
Status: Former NHL left winger for Philadelphia, Toronto, Calgary, the New York Islanders and Washington. Currently an assistant coach with the Flyers.
Ht: 6-foot-1 Wt: 205 pounds
DOB: Dec. 17, 1965 In: Calahoo, Alta.
Hockey Inspirations: "I think, growing up where I lived, we only had two or three channels. The only hockey we got on TV was the Montreal Canadians most of the time on Hockey Night In Canada. So I grew up a Guy Lafleur fan more than anybody."
Nicknames: "Chief. Been called it since I was a teenager."
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: "Well, I have a family now, but I golf a lot. I like all sports, to be honest with you. Any sport, anything like that, I like to do."
Favorite Movies: "Raging Bull, Casino, Goodfellas."
Favorite TV Shows: "I have one show that I like - Dennis Leary’s show; the firefighter show: Rescue Me. I don't watch a lot of TV except for sports."
Musical Tastes: "Neil Young, (Bob) Dylan, Allman Brothers, kind of the old stuff, Stones."
First Hockey Memory: "Playing outside on a pond, an open rink, growing up. Cleaning the snow off the pond and playing shinny hockey out there with some friends."
First Job: "Construction with my dad (Roger), building roads."
Current Car: "I got a Tahoe."
Favorite Meal: "Steak."
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Vanilla."
Pre-game Feeling: "As a coach - relaxed. As a player - I was intense, you know, but I was relaxed also. I could sit there and talk, I liked to talk before the game. And just cruise around and screw around a little bit. Get loose. And then once the puck dropped, the intensity kicked in and we were ready to roll."
Greatest Sports Moment: "One of the biggest thrills was I scored a goal on Dale Hunter's 1,000th point. It was pretty exciting for me. I wasn't a scorer or anything, but I got the opportunity to play with him at the end of his career. That was a thrill for me. He was a great player and one of my best friends."
Most Painful Moment: "I guess losing in the Stanley Cup final; Philadelphia vs. Edmonton and then with Washington against Detroit."
Favorite Uniforms: "Flyers."
Favorite Arena To Play: "Madison Square Garden."
Funny Hockey Memory: "We were in the playoffs against Buffalo, I was with Washington and Dale Hunter was a big prankster, screwing around, doing things. We got a guy to take care of his vehicle when we were gone on a road trip. We came back, his tires were all off. His truck was up on stilts or whatever you call them - stands. So he walks around the corner and his truck is up like that (laughs). It was pretty funny to see that at the time."
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "Oh, there's a lot of those with me. Getting punched in a fight; getting knocked out. But I got up right away and didn't know what was going on. That was probably the most embarrassing thing for me. It was at the Spectrum, too. (Against who?) I can't remember. It wasn't a guy who was really tough. He was fighting out of fear and he hit me, caught me and I went down. But I got up right away and asked the linesman, “Who sucker-punched me?"
Closest NHL Friends: "I got a few, want me to name 'em all? (Three or four?) Dale Hunter, Keith Jones, Rick Tocchet, Chris Therien. I keep in contact with all those guys and am pretty close to all of them."
Funniest Players Encountered: "Chris Therien is very funny. Keith Jones is very funny."
Toughest Competitors: "Oh, Bob Probert is probably one of the toughest I've ever scrapped with in my life. Scrapped about seven, eight times - always a battle."
Most Memorable Goal: "I scored a playoff goal against Buffalo on Dominik Hasek to win the game. Big goal. Also scored one here (Philadelphia) against the Devils in the semifinal. The one on Buffalo was a semifinal also. Those were two of the most memorable goals I scored."
Favorite Players To Watch: "In the past, Gretzky, Lemieux, all those guys were great to watch. So many great players in my era when I played. Seemed every team had a superstar. In today's game there are so many, we've got guys on our team I enjoy watching - Richards, Carter, Gagne. Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, so many great players."
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