Dave Christian

Last updated

Dave Christian
Born (1959-05-12) May 12, 1959 (age 65)
Warroad, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Winnipeg Jets
Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
National teamFlag of the United States.svg  United States
NHL draft 40th overall, 1979
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 19801996
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1980 Lake Placid Team competition

David William Christian (born May 12, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Christian went on to play for five National Hockey League teams over a 15-season career, from 1980 to 1994.

Contents

Amateur career

Christian was born in Warroad, Minnesota, and grew up playing hockey, gridiron football, and baseball, as well as competing on the track and field team, for Warroad High School. He later attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, where he played for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey team and played in the 1979 national championship, but North Dakota lost the final to the University of Minnesota and Christian's future Olympic teammate, Neal Broten.

Professional and international career

Dave Christian's jersey from the 1980 Winter Olympics on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame DaveChristian.jpg
Dave Christian's jersey from the 1980 Winter Olympics on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame

Christian is best known for being a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal in an event known as the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Winter Olympics. He also played for the U.S. national team at the 1981 Canada Cup as well as the 1981 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments as an NHL rookie. His international career continued in the 1984 Canada Cup, 1989 Ice Hockey World Championship and 1991 Canada Cup tournaments.

Christian's professional hockey career started one week after the Miracle on Ice when he joined the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted him 40th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Christian set and still holds the record for the fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game, scoring just seven seconds into his first shift, electrifying the crowd. After a roller-coaster career in Winnipeg, where he scored 70 or more points in both seasons following the 1980 Olympics, he went on to play with the Washington Capitals where he led the team in assists his first season there, with 52. He also added 29 goals, and after the Capitals he would go on to play with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and St. Louis Blues, ending his NHL career with 340 goals and 433 assists in 1,009 NHL regular season games. He also made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals as a member of the Boston Bruins in 1990, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.

Post career

Christian was named head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks near the end of the 1997–98 season and held the positions through the 1999–2000 season.

Family

Christian comes from a family of hockey players. His father Bill and uncle Roger were members of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that won the gold medal. Another uncle, Gordon, was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that won the silver medal. Bill and Roger, along with Hal Bakke, were the founders of the Christian Brothers Hockey Company based in Warroad, which until 2009, made hockey sticks. [1] His nephew, Brock Nelson, currently plays for the Colorado Avalanche.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1976–77 Warroad High School HS-MN
1977–78 University of North Dakota WCHA 388162414
1978–79 University of North DakotaWCHA4022244622
1979–80 American National Team Intl5910203026
1979–80 Winnipeg Jets NHL 15810182
1980–81 Winnipeg JetsNHL8028437122
1981–82 Winnipeg JetsNHL802551762840112
1982–83 Winnipeg JetsNHL551826442330000
1983–84 Washington Capitals NHL802952812885495
1984–85 Washington CapitalsNHL802643691451120
1985–86 Washington CapitalsNHL804142831594480
1986–87 Washington CapitalsNHL76232750871346
1987–88 Washington CapitalsNHL80372158261456116
1988–89 Washington CapitalsNHL803431651261120
1989–90 Washington CapitalsNHL2838114
1989–90 Boston Bruins NHL501217298214154
1990–91 Boston BruinsNHL78322153411984124
1991–92 St. Louis Blues NHL782024444143030
1992–93 Chicago Blackhawks NHL60414181210000
1993–94 Indianapolis Ice IHL 40818266
1993–94 Chicago BlackhawksNHL9033010000
1994–95 Minnesota Moose IHL813842801630110
1995–96 Minnesota MooseIHL692125468
NHL totals1,00934043377328410232255727

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1979 United States WJC 52130
1980 United States OLY 70886
1981 United States WC 883116
1981 United States CC 61014
1984 United StatesCC62132
1989 United StatesWC64372
1991 United StatesCC71120
Junior totals52130
Senior totals4016163220

In the 1981 TV movie about the gold medal-winning hockey team entitled Miracle on Ice , Christian is played by Thomas F. Duffy.

In the 2004 Disney film Miracle , he is played by Steve Kovalcik.

See also

References

  1. "Home".
Preceded by Winnipeg Jets captain
198182
Succeeded by