Mike Christie (ice hockey)

Mike Christie
Born (1949-12-20)December 20, 1949
Big Spring, Texas, U.S.
Died July 11, 2019(2019-07-11) (aged 69)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Colorado Rockies
Cleveland Barons
California Seals
National team  United States
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1974–1981

Michael Hunt Christie (December 20, 1949 – July 11, 2019) was a professional ice hockey defenseman who played 412 games in the National Hockey League for the California Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, and Vancouver Canucks from 1974 to 1981.

Biography

Born in Big Spring, Texas, and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Christie was the first native Texan to play in the NHL, although it was strictly a technicality as his father was a Canadian citizen working for an American oil company and Mike grew up in Canada.[1]

Before turning professional, Christie played for the University of Denver men's ice hockey team, becoming a first team all-American in 1971 as well as being chosen for the US amateur national team at the 1972 Ice Hockey World Championship Pool B tournament. Undrafted, Christie was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks and played two minor league seasons with the Dallas Black Hawks (CHL), before being traded to the California Golden Seals in 1974. He made his NHL debut there at the start of the 1974-75 season and played until the franchise moved to Cleveland in 1977, becoming the Cleveland Barons. Christie was captain of the NHL's Colorado Rockies hockey team in the late 1970s, and his NHL career ended with the Vancouver Canucks in 1981.

Christie also represented the United States in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament.

Christie settled in Colorado after his hockey career ended, and started a second career as a sales representative that allowed him to enjoy his other athletic passion - golf. He represented several well-known brands, including Callaway and Top-Flite, before retiring in 2010.

Christie died of kidney disease in July 2019. He was married to his wife of 47 years, Molly (née Hamill), and had two daughters, Lisa and Colleen, a son Dan, and four grandchildren.[2]

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1970–71 [3]
AHCA West All-American 1970–71 [4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1968–69 University of Denver WCHA — — — — — — — — — —
1969–70 University of Denver WCHA 31 2 16 18 38 — — — — —
1970–71 University of Denver WCHA 36 8 25 33 57 — — — — —
1971–72 University of Denver WCHA — — — — — — — — — —
1972–73 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 32 5 11 16 51 — — — — —
1973–74 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 71 5 37 42 110 10 1 2 3 23
1974–75 California Golden Seals NHL 34 0 14 14 76 — — — — —
1975–76 California Golden Seals NHL 78 3 18 21 152 — — — — —
1976–77 Cleveland Barons NHL 79 6 27 33 79 — — — — —
1977–78 Cleveland Barons NHL 34 1 6 7 49 — — — — —
1977–78 Colorado Rockies NHL 35 2 8 10 28 2 0 0 0 0
1978–79 Colorado Rockies NHL 68 1 10 11 88 — — — — —
1979–80 Colorado Rockies NHL 74 1 17 18 78 — — — — —
1980–81 Colorado Rockies NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1980–81 Tulsa Oilers CHL 20 1 0 1 27 — — — — —
1980–81 Vancouver Canucks NHL 9 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1980–81 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 40 2 20 22 95 6 0 3 3 10
CHL totals 163 13 68 81 283 16 1 5 6 33
NHL totals 412 15 101 116 550 2 0 0 0 0

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1976 United States CC 4 0 0 0 2

References

  1. ^ Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p.244), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN 1-4259-1028-9
  2. ^ "Remembering the life of Mike Christie". calgaryherald.remembering.ca.
  3. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  4. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Colorado Rockies captain
1980 		Succeeded by