He was a part of the dynasty that secured multiple Stanley Cups, but as many hockey player's careers started, it was in humble beginnings.
One of those beginnings was in the Rockford IceHogs system, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.
He spent a brief time in Rockford, splitting the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 seasons between the AHL and NHL during the beginning of his career.
Corey Crawford speaks as the IceHogs retire his No. 29 pic.twitter.com/qi4AIo53Fi� Four Feathers Podcast (@FourFeathersPod) February 11, 2024
Crawford's #29 jersey was retired before the game started, with a video tribute to Crawford with teammates and coaches.
The ceremony ended with Crawford giving a well-thought-out and emotional speech about his time in the AHL.
Crawford was thankful to his family and coach and was grateful for his time in Rockford. He mentioned how much he enjoyed his time in the AHL, along with the company of his teammates.
But he had a lot of fun in the city before his career took off and thanked the fans of Rockford for their support.
He also thanked Mark Bernard for his support, which included on and off-ice support throughout his career.
Crawford also thanked multiple teammates who were a part of the video tribute to the goalie for the ceremony.
Crawford finished his emotional speech by thanking his wife Christie and family and felt so honored and lost for words near the end as he ended his speech on a high note.
One of the Blackhawks' most memorable goalies finished his NHL career with 488 games, 26 shutouts, a 2.45 GAA, 260 wins and 162 losses, and a career .918 save percentage.
POLL | ||
Do you think Corey Crawford was one of the Blackhawk's best goalies? | ||
Yes | 262 | 77.3 % |
No | 77 | 22.7 % |
List of polls |