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. 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 was 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 the record for the fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game, scoring seven seconds into his first shift. After a 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 played in the 1991 NHL All-Star Game. Christian was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

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.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs 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