The 28-year-old has signed up for a sixth season with the club and will continue to play under Marc LeFebvre, with Moore being a part of the Canadian’s squad in every season he has coached in Dundee.
Last season saw Moore ice on 62 occasions for the Stars and contribute 11 points from blueline as the team reached the playoff Quarter-Finals, a feat the club has reached in four of Moore’s five years with the club.
The defender from Kirkcaldy has now racked up 261 Elite League appearances for the Stars, with 43 points (4G, 39A) and 128 penalty minutes, across his previous five seasons.
After playing his junior hockey in Canada and the United States, LeFebvre brought in the Scot for two seasons and in his second year, Moore was part of the first ever Stars team to reach the Playoff Finals Weekend.
Craig has also spent time with four other Elite League clubs as after making his professional debut in Dundee, he then joined Cardiff Devils for two seasons and had a short spell with Fife Flyers.
In 2019, he then completed the Scottish hat-trick by icing with Glasgow Clan for one year and after COVID-19, he returned to Dundee and helped the team to reach their second ever, playoff semi-finals.
Moore then began the 2022-2023 season with Nottingham Panthers before swapping back to Dundee mid-season and then re-connecting with LeFebvre the following summer.
LEFEBVRE ON MOORE
Once Moore’s extension was finalised, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “Mooresy is a veteran around this league now, a veteran British player and we were looking at a lot of things this summer but it always made sense to bring Craig back to be part of that Brit-core.
“Obviously we added to it with Ben (O’Connor) but with Craig’s experience he gives us the opportunity to have a guy who can play forward and defence.
“The plan is to play him as a forward at the start of the season but with injuries and suspensions then we always have the option to bring him back on defence, so he is just a good option in both offensive and defensive aspects.
“He is a guy who has accepted his role now as he gets older and he is going to be a big part of our club moving forward.”
With his British signings now complete, LeFebvre discussed what that means and what his plans are for each of the Brits, adding: “The massive thing for us was that we wanted to get a British national team level player on our team, who was more like an import and in Ben O’Connor we have that, so that gives us some options and also allows us to go with two import goalies, as well as possibly carrying a spare import.
“We are not expecting a lot of offence out of Kris (Inglis) but he is a solid third pairing defenseman who will be physical and just keep things simple for us.
“With Garry (Craig Garrigan) he is what he is and that is an absolute workhorse, he blocks shots, is strong defensively, great on the penalty kill and just a great guy too.
“He was one of my favourite players to coach last season and before he got injured at the end of the year, I thought he could have helped us down the stretch and in the playoffs if he was healthy.
“Beaner (Jonathan McBean), the sky is the limit for him and he is going to get a lot more opportunity and we want to keep increasing his ice time and giving him a bigger role in our forward lines and seeing where he takes it.
“The ball is going to be in his hands so he to take it and have a big summer, getting a little bit bigger and stronger because the skillset is there, he just needs to continue developing off the ice as well, in terms of his physical strength to be able to play against the seasoned pros in our league.”
CRAIG ON STAYING WITH THE STARS
After signing up for his fifth season in Dundee, Craig said: “I am really excited to be back in Dundee for another year.
“Dundee has always been kind to me, and last season there was a real sense of excitement and a buzz around the rink on game nights, something I cannot wait to be a part of again.
“I think for me personally, knowing the success we had making the playoff final weekend during my second season in Dundee when Marc returned for his second year, was something that sold me on coming back.
“From speaking with Marc in our exit meeting, I got an understanding of his plans and vision so with the idea of bringing in a good core of returning players, which is something I believe plays a key role in having early success, hopefully that can lead us to replicating the previously mentioned years success in making the playoff final weekend but this time around ending with us winning a championship.”
He continued: “I think last season showed just how important every game is, whether it be the first or last game of the year, every point matters and having a good start can ultimately make or break our season.
“Having a good core of returning players will hopefully give us a head start come training camp, so we can start the year on the right side of results and allow us to build a winning culture off the hop.”
Craig also shared a message for the fans after agreeing his new deal and he said: “I am super excited to get back to Dundee come August and I look forward to hopefully seeing over 2000 of you in the DIA come opening night.”
Listen to the full interview with Craig and Stars TV below!
In his career so far, Craig has featured in 621 matches, recorded 44 goals, 109 assists and collected 293 penalty minutes, while also playing in 36 playoff games and scoring nine points (3G, 6A) with 17 penalty minutes.
Craig is our ninth signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Ben O’Connor, Jonathan McBean, Xavier Pouliot, Craig Garrigan, Kris Inglis, Kyle Pouncy and Brett Gravelle on the roster for next season.
Moore will change to wear the #24 for the Stars and you can sponsor his equipment for this season right now, click HERE.
To see Craig’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
All images: Derek Black.
