Dave Christian
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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.
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
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 Championships tournaments as an NHL rookie. His international career continued in the 1984 Canada Cup, 1989 Ice Hockey World Championships 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. Christian's nephew, Brock Nelson, is also an NHL player and was selected for the 2026 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, which won the gold medal.
Awards and achievements
- Christian was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Christian played in the 1991 NHL All-Star Game
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1976–77 | Warroad High School | HS-MN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977–78 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 38 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | University of North Dakota | WCHA | 40 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80 | American National Team | Intl | 59 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 15 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980–81 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 80 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981–82 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 80 | 25 | 51 | 76 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1982–83 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 55 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983–84 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 29 | 52 | 81 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| 1984–85 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1985–86 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 41 | 42 | 83 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 1986–87 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 76 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 1987–88 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 37 | 21 | 58 | 26 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| 1988–89 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 34 | 31 | 65 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989–90 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 28 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989–90 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 50 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 1990–91 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 32 | 21 | 53 | 41 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| 1991–92 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 41 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1992–93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993–94 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 40 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994–95 | Minnesota Moose | IHL | 81 | 38 | 42 | 80 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | Minnesota Moose | IHL | 69 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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 | OLY | 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 popular culture
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
- List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
- List of Olympic medalist families
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from , or , or , or
| Preceded byMorris Lukowich | Winnipeg Jets captain 1981–82 | Succeeded byLucien DeBlois |