Dave Christian

David William " Dave" Christian ( born May 13, 1959 in Warroad, Minnesota ) is a retired American professional ice hockey player and coach, who in his active years from 1977 to 1996 among others for the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks played in the National Hockey League. Too great a reputation he came as a member of the U.S. national team, which was founded in 1980 Olympic champion.

Career

Dave Christian began his career as a hockey player at the University of North Dakota, which he attended from 1977 to 1979, while he was active in parallel for their hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He was then selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 1979 in the second round than a total of 40 players from the Winnipeg Jets. First, he spent most of the 1979/80 season when Team USA, which was preparing for the Winter Olympics. After the Olympic victory in 1980 the winger completed until end of the season in 15 games for Winnipeg in the National Hockey League, scoring eight goals and ten templates. In the following three years he belonged to the permanent staff at the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL before he was issued on June 8, 1983 in exchange for a Erstrundenwahlrecht for the NHL Entry Draft in 1983 at the Washington Capitals. In the capital club, he was one of the best players spot and reached with his team each season to the playoffs for the Stanley Cup.

On December 13, 1989 Christian was transferred for Bob Joyce to the Boston Bruins. With these he failed in the 1989/90 season until the Stanley Cup Finals to the Edmonton Oilers and in the following season in the Conference Finals in the late Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In 1991 he also took part in the NHL All-Star Game. The 1991/92 season spent the right shooter with the St. Louis Blues, for whom he scored 23 goals in 82 games and made 24 templates. In October 1992, he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Waiver Draft. When team from Illinois, he was unable to repeat his previous performances and scored in the 1992/93 season in 61 games 18 scorer points, including four goals, after which he was given largely to the Indianapolis Ice of the International Hockey League for the following season. For this he scored 26 points scorer, including eight goals, in 40 games. He also denied a further ten games in the NHL for Chicago, including a playoff game. From 1994 to 1996, the Americans ran for the Minnesota Moose of the IHL before he ended his active career at the age of 37 years.

Internationally

For the U.S., Christian participated exclusively at the Junior World Championship in 1979 at junior level. In the senior level, he stood in his country's squad at the World Championships in 1981, 1989 and 1981, 1984 and 1991 at the Canada Cup. His greatest success with the U.S. national team was winning the gold medal in the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Awards and achievements

NHL stats

Coaching career

Shortly before the end of the 1997/98 season took Dave Christian the position as head coach of the Fargo - Moorhead Ice Sharks in the Junior League United States Hockey League. In this he was unsuccessful relative to 2000 behind the gang and won with his team at this time, only about a third of the games played.

Family

David Christian comes from a family with a long tradition of ice hockey. His father Billy Christian and his two uncles Gord Christian and Roger Christian represented the USA at the Olympic Winter Games. His brother Ed Christian was also a professional hockey player and played for the Toledo Goal Diggers in the International Hockey League. His two nephews Jordy Christian and Brock Nelson play for the St. Cloud State University and the University of North Dakota.