Dave Christian

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. Additionally he played for five National Hockey League teams over a 15-season career.

Dave Christian
Born (1959-05-12) May 12, 1959
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 team  United States
NHL Draft 40th overall, 1979
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 19801996
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Lake Placid Team competition

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
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 7 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 New York Islanders.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1976–77Warroad High SchoolHigh-MN
1977–78University of North DakotaWCHA388162414
1978–79University of North DakotaWCHA4022244622
1979–80United StatesIntl5910203026
1979–80Winnipeg JetsNHL15810182
1980–81Winnipeg JetsNHL8028437122
1981–82Winnipeg JetsNHL802551762840112
1982–83Winnipeg JetsNHL551826442330000
1983–84Washington CapitalsNHL802952812885495
1984–85Washington CapitalsNHL802643691451120
1985–86Washington CapitalsNHL804142831594480
1986–87Washington CapitalsNHL76232750871346
1987–88Washington CapitalsNHL80372158261456116
1988–89Washington CapitalsNHL803431651261120
1989–90Washington CapitalsNHL2838114
1989–90Boston BruinsNHL501217298214154
1990–91Boston BruinsNHL78322153411984124
1991–92St. Louis BluesNHL782024444143030
1992–93Chicago BlackhawksNHL60414181210000
1993–94Indianapolis IceIHL40818266
1993–94Chicago BlackhawksNHL9033010000
1994–95Minnesota MooseIHL813842801630110
1995–96Minnesota MooseIHL692125468
NHL totals 1,009 340 433 773 284 102 32 25 57 27

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1979 United States WJC 5 2 1 3 0
1980 United States OG 7 0 8 8 6
1981 United States WC 8 8 3 11 6
1981 United States CC 6 1 0 1 4
1984 United States CC 6 2 1 3 2
1989 United States WC 6 4 3 7 2
1991 United States CC 7 1 1 2 0
Junior totals 5 2 1 3 0
Senior totals 40 16 16 32 20

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

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