Christian, David W.
Hockey
b. May 12, 1959, Warroad, MN
A member of America's foremost hockey family, Christian played right wing at the University of North Dakota but was used mostly on defense with the 1980 U. S. Olympic team that won a surprising gold medal in the Lake Placid Winter Games. The 6-foot, 195-pounder was big enough for the position and his speed was a definite asset to the team. He didn't score a goal but had 8 assists in the 7 Olympic tournament games.
He was the fourth member of his family to play in the Olympics. His father Bill and uncle Roger had played for the 1960 gold medal team and his uncle Gordon had played for the 1956 team that won a silver medal. The older members of the family operate a company that manufactures hockey sticks.
After the Olympics, Christian joined the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. He was traded to the Washington Capitals in 1983 and the Capitals sent him to the Boston Bruins during the 1989-90 season.
Christian was signed by the St. Louis Blues as a free agent in 1991, but the Bruins claimed he wasn't a free agent and a trade was eventually worked out. After one season in St. Louis, he went to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1992. He retired as a player after the 1993-94 season and is currently general manager and coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks in the U. S. Hockey League.
During his NHL career, Christian scored 340 goals and 433 assists for a total of 773 points in 1,009 regular season games. He added 57 points on 32 goals and 25 assists in 101 playoff games.