The time of
HC Innsbruck and attackers
Darien Craighead
is over again. As has now been announced, the 29-year-old Canadian will return to the 2026/27 season
Aalborg Pirates
back – the club where he was one of the most offensive players in the Danish league just a year ago.
Bad luck with injuries in Innsbruck
The expectations for Craighead were quite high before his move to the win2day ICE Hockey League. The versatile winger came to Tyrol from Denmark with strong statistics and was supposed to strengthen the Sharks’ offensive. But hardly anything came of it: due to a lower body injury, the Canadian was out for almost the entire season.
In the end there were only two ICEHL appearances – without a scorer point and with a plus/minus balance of -5. This meant that Craighead had virtually no sporting influence on Innsbruck’s season.
Strong numbers in Denmark
He had previously impressively demonstrated that the right-handed shooter certainly has offensive qualities. In the 2024/25 season, Craighead played for Aalborg Pirates and was one of the best scorers in the Danish league. In 44 games he collected a strong 68 points, including 27 goals. He also showed in the playoffs with eleven points in twelve games.
These performances made him interesting for numerous European clubs and ultimately led to a move to the ICEHL.
Career between NCAA and Europe
Craighead comes from Surrey in the Canadian province of British Columbia and went through several junior positions in Canadian junior hockey. He achieved his final breakthrough at the
Northern Michigan Universitywhere he played four years of NCAA hockey.
In his rookie season he was elected to the WCHA All-Rookie Team, later followed by two nominations to the Conference’s Third All-Star Team. Overall, he had 109 points in 153 NCAA games.
After college, his career took him to Europe via the ECHL. Stations in Norway and Scotland followed before he made his offensive breakthrough in Denmark.
Return to familiar surroundings
After the disappointing and injury-filled year in Innsbruck, Craighead is now looking for a new start in familiar surroundings. The Aalborg Pirates are already well aware of the Canadian’s qualities – and hope that the attacker can build on his strong form from 2024/25 in the coming season.
Image: HCI/PAPA Productions
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