Cory Conacher

Cory Conacher
Conacher with the Islanders in October 2014
Born	December 14, 1989 Burlington, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
NLA team Former teams	SC Bern Tampa Bay Lightning Ottawa Senators Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2011–present

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Canada
Spengler Cup
	2015 Davos
2016 Switzerland
	National League A

Cory Conacher (born December 14, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center currently playing for SC Bern of the National League A (NLA). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Growing up in Burlington, Ontario, Conacher spent most of his minor hockey career playing AAA and AA hockey in the OMHA's Tri-County League until playing AAA at Major Midget in 2005-06 season. He spent 1 year playing Midget for the Eagles before graduating as an 17-year-old to the OJHL's Burlington Cougars Jr.A. club in 2006-07.

Conacher with the Senators during the 2013 playoffs

Prior to turning professional, Conacher played college hockey at Canisius College with the Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey team. He would ultimately become the school's all-time leader in points (147), goals (62) and game-winning goals (12) in 129 games.^[1]

Cory Conacher in the penalty box in Pittsburgh

Largely due to his diminutive size, Conacher went undrafted through his four years with Canisius. However, Conacher became the program's most decorated player, setting 12 records, and was subsequently signed after his senior year in 2010–11 to amateur try-out contracts with the Rochester Americans, Cincinnati Cyclones and the Milwaukee Admirals. As a free agent on July 6, 2011, Conacher signed a one-year contract with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.^[2]

In the 2011–12 season, after attending the Tampa Bay Lightning pre-season camp,^[3] Conacher was selected to play in the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, after leading all rookies in scoring. While leading the Admirals in goals and points, Conacher signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Admirals' NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on March 1, 2012.^[4] Upon helping the Admirals capture their first Calder Cup, Conacher's successful season was rewarded with the Les Cunningham Award as the league's MVP, becoming just the fourth rookie to win it since it was first presented in 1948. Conacher was subsequently awarded the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award and was also named to the AHL All-Rookie team and the Second AHL All-Star Team.^[5]

With the NHL lockout in effect, Conacher started the 2012–13 season with Tampa's new AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Once the lockout concluded Conacher was recalled by the Lightning to attend training camp for the shortened NHL season. He immediately made an impact with Tampa Bay, scoring his first NHL goal in his first NHL game on January 19, 2013, on opening night against Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals in a 6-3 win. Conacher continued to be productive and placed second in NHL rookie scoring with 24 points in 35 games before being dealt at the trade deadline (along with a 2013 fourth-round draft pick) to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Ben Bishop on April 3, 2013.^[6]

Conacher's first full season with the Senators was a difficult one, as he struggled to find offensive consistency. Through his first 58 games of the season he recorded only four goals and was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions. Conacher's offensive struggles were perhaps magnified by the fact that goaltender Bishop, the player he had been traded for, was playing very well in Tampa Bay and was frequently receiving mention as a Vezina Trophy candidate. On March 4, 2014, the eve of the 2013-14 NHL trade deadline, Conacher was placed on waivers by the Senators.^[7] He was subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Sabres on March 5, 2014.^[8]

The Sabres declined to offer Conacher a contract extension, which allowed him to become a free agent on June 30, 2014. The team was undecided in regard to retaining his rights, only deciding at the last minute to release him.^[9]

On July 1, 2014, Conacher was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders on a one year, $600,000 contract.^[10] After playing in 15 of the team's first 29 games, Conacher was placed on waivers by the Islanders on December 12, 2014. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's minor league affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the following day.^[11] On March 2, 2015, Conacher was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for Utica Comets player Dustin Jeffrey.^[12] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, securing an offensive role to help the club reach the Calder Cup finals.

On July 1, 2015, Conacher left the NHL as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with Swiss club, SC Bern, of the NLA.^[13] In December 2015, he was selected to play for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup and helped win the title, while being named to the tournament's all-star team. He won the National League A title that same season with SC Bern, scoring 5 goals in 14 playoffs games.

Personal

Conacher was born with a rare condition in which his bladder was outside his body. As a result, he underwent a ten-hour surgical procedure at only five days old in which doctors reconstructed his pelvis in order to place his bladder back into his body. The situation was so severe that doctors informed his parents that he might never walk properly.^[14] Additionally, Conacher has suffered from Type 1 Diabetes since the age of eight. When not playing he often has an insulin pump attached to his hip to regulate his blood glucose levels.^[1]

Conacher is a distant relative of Hockey Hall of Famers Charlie, Roy, and Lionel Conacher.,^[15] but despite rumours to the contrary, he is not related to former NHL forward Pat Conacher. Cory Conacher has a younger brother, Shane Conacher, playing for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Burlington Eagles	OMHA		48	30	33	63	30		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Burlington Cougars	OPJHL		48	22	40	62	62		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Canisius College	AHA		20	7	10	17	24		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Canisius College	AHA		37	12	23	35	42		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Canisius College	AHA		35	20	33	53	36		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Canisius College	AHA		37	23	19	42	54		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Rochester Americans	AHL		2	1	0	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Cincinnati Cyclones	ECHL		3	5	2	7	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		5	3	2	5	2		7	0	1	1	6
2011–12	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		75	39	41	80	114		18	2	13	15	28
2012–13	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		36	12	16	28	56		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		35	9	15	24	16		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Ottawa Senators	NHL		12	2	3	5	6		8	3	0	3	31
2013–14	Ottawa Senators	NHL		60	4	16	20	34		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		19	3	3	6	16		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	New York Islanders	NHL		15	1	2	3	14		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		28	5	17	22	30		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Utica Comets	AHL		20	7	9	16	22		23	5	3	8	28
NHL totals				141	19	39	58	84		8	3	0	3	31

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-Atlantic Hockey First Team	2009–10[16]
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year	2009–10[17]
All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team	2010–11
AHL Les Cunningham Award	2011–12[5]
AHL Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award	2011–12[18]
AHL All-Rookie Team	2011–12[19]
AHL Second All-Star Team	2011–12[20]
AHL Calder Cup	2011–12[21]

References

1. Wharnsby, Tim (October 9, 2012). "Cory Conacher has overcome plenty, including surname". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
2. "Conacher signs AHL contract". wgrz.com. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
3. "Undrafted free-agent Cory Conacher in the mix for roster spot with Tampa Bay". TampaBay.com. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
4. "Lightning sign forward Cory Conacher". Tampa Bay Lightning. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
5. "Conacher voted AHL MVP". American Hockey League. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
6. "Lightning get Bishop in exchange for Conacher". National Hockey League. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
7. "Senators place Conacher, Corvo on waivers". The Sports Network. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
8. "Waiver wire: Sabres claim Conacher, Bruins claim Potter". The Sports Network. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
9. Hoppe, Bill (July 1, 2014). "Sabres let Cory Conacher and Jamie McBain go, Sam Reinhart visits Buffalo for first time". Retrieved July 1, 2014.
10. "Islanders sign Johnson, Conacher and Brennan". National Hockey League. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
11. "Islanders Transactions: Cory Conacher on waivers; Sound Tigers sign Colton Gillies. Update: Conacher clears waivers". Lighthouse Hockey. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
12. "Canucks acquire Cory Conacher from Islanders". National Hockey League. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
13. "Cory Conacher for SCB" (in German). SC Bern. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
14. "The Little Train that Did". http://www.westlakeword.com/sports/2013/03/18/the-little-train-that-did/. External link in |work= (help);
15. "Burlington's little big man Conacher turning some heads in Norfolk". thespec.com. March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
16. "NCAA 2010 AHA All-Star Team". Eliteprospects.com. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
17. "Conacher gets off to another hot start". InsideCollegeHockey.com. 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
18. "Conacher named top rookie". American Hockey League. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
19. "AHL All-Rookie Team announced". American Hockey League. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
20. "2011–12 First and Second All-Stars named". American Hockey League. 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
21. "Admirals win 2012 Calder Cup Championship". Norfolk Admirals. 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2012-06-09.

External links

• Cory Conacher's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Cory Conacher's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Cory Conacher's player profile at NHL.com
• Cory Conacher on Twitter