A native of Eagle River,
Wis., Craig Ludwig came to UND as an unrecruited walk-on to the men's
hockey team. He ended up as one of the most successful players in school
history.
In three seasons as a defenseman with the Fighting Sioux, the
6-3 Ludwig lettered all three years and was a member of NCAA
championship teams in 1980 and 1982 and WCHA championship teams in those
same seasons.
In 114 games at UND, Ludwig scored 10 goals and added 42
assists for a career total of 52 points. He had five goals and 31
assists in his junior season, tying for sixth on the team in scoring. He
was a second team All-WCHA selection as a junior.
A third round draft
choice (61st overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in 1980, Ludwig left
school after his junior season to sign a National Hockey League contract
with the Canadiens, for whom he played eight seasons. He also played
one season with the New York Islanders, two with the Minnesota North
Stars, and when Minnesota moved to Dallas, Ludwig played an additional
six seasons with the Dallas Stars.
During a 17-year NHL career, Ludwig
played on two Stanley Cup championship teams, with Montreal in 1986 and
with Dallas in 1999. Ludwig retired after the 1998-99 season. He played
in 1,256 regular season NHL games during his career, second only to
James Patrick for most career games by a former Sioux. Ludwig scored 38
goals with 184 assists for 222 points in his NHL career. He played an
additional 177 games in the NHL playoffs, scoring four goals with 25
assists in the postseason. Ludwig was inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey
Hall of Fame in 2002.
