As the son of 1960 gold medalist, Bill Christian, the nephew of 1960 gold medalist, Roger Christian, and the nephew of 1956 silver medalist, Gordon Christian, Dave Christian grew up in a very hockey oriented environment. After making all-state in high school – where he also played football, baseball, and track – he went to the University of North Dakota, where he played two years at right wing. He left college right after the Olympics to play with the Winnipeg Jets. Christian made a spectacular start to his NHL career, scoring after just seven seconds of his debut and in his first two full seasons in the NHL, he scored 71 and 76 points, good performances considering the Jets were a weak team in both of those years. Christian played in the NHL thru 1994, playing with the Jets, the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, and Chicago Blackhawks. He had career marks of 340 goals and 773 points and played in the NHL All-Star game in 1991. He finished his hockey career with two seasons with the Minnesota Moose of the IHL.
United States