| 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.
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.
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-WCHA First Team | 1970–71 | |
| AHCA West All-American | 1970–71 |
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
- Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p.244), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN 1-4259-1028-9
- "Remembering the life of Mike Christie". calgaryherald.remembering.ca.
- "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byGary Croteau | Colorado Rockies captain 1980 |
Succeeded byRené Robert |
- 1949 births
- 2019 deaths
- AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
- American expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- American men's ice hockey defensemen
- California Golden Seals players
- Cleveland Barons (NHL) players
- Colorado Rockies (NHL) players
- Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players
- Ice hockey people from Texas
- People from Big Spring, Texas
- Ice hockey people from Calgary
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- Vancouver Canucks players
- 20th-century American sportsmen