He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs during 1996–97 season, and for various minor league teams in North America and Europe from 1997 to 2005.
[1][2] He holds the Deutsche Eishockey Liga record for penalty minutes for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.
[citation needed] On September 24, 2015, as Head Coach and part-owner of the then-Langley Knights, a Junior B team in the PJHL, an altercation behind the opposing Mission City Outlaws bench resulted in Craighead being suspended for six years by governing body BC Hockey.
During the incident, Craighead entered the Mission City Outlaws bench to confront its coach during a bench-clearing brawl.
Craighead successfully petitioned the BC Supreme Court to order PJHL to cease its disciplinary proceedings and take no further action against the team and its owners.