Darren Kramer (C-L, 6’1, DOB 1991, 6-156/11)
2009-10 AJHL Grande Prairie 58-19-11-30 331pim (ppg 0.51) 7th pts
2010-11 WHL Spokane 68-7-7-14 +10 306pim (ppg 0.20) 18th
2011-12 WHL Spokane 71-21-19-40 +4 200pim (ppg 0.56) 7th
The unranked overage draft pick was considered the best fighter in the draft (47 majors!) and a great team guy. The Sens sent him to Spokane for his final year of junior with instructions to work on his skills and he responded with a career best in goals and assists (reducing his fisticuffs down to 26). There’s no doubt he will be signed and join Binghamton in the fall. Describing himself he said, “People ask me why I do it and I say ‘if I could score 47 goals, I’d do it that way. But after you get to a certain age, you see the guys get better and spots become limited on teams. So I figured out (fighting) was something I enjoyed doing and I wasn’t too bad at it, either. I started fighting and playing an energy role. But I didn’t fight just to fight. I did it for the right reasons and tried to pick my spots properly and try to motivate the team and the crowd at times.” His coach Don Nachbaur said “He’s been a breath of fresh air. He doesn’t wear a letter but this is a credit to him, I’d name him as one of the leaders on this hockey team and I think every guy in that locker room feels the same. He’s an intelligent player. He knows the situation. He doesn’t fight for himself. He’s the ultimate team guy, he does it for his team. I can’t think of an instance he got into a fight because some guy hit him too hard. It’s always been about the team first.” Here’s Kramer fighting Dalton Thrower earlier this season. Finally, I can’t help but reference Kramer’s invention (a new kind of peanut butter jar).
eyeonthesens 