Rick Blight

Rick Blight
Born (1955-10-17)October 17, 1955
Portage la Prairie, MB, CAN
Died April 3, 2005(2005-04-03) (aged 49)
Portage la Prairie, MB, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Los Angeles Kings
NHL Draft 10th overall, 1975
Vancouver Canucks
WHA Draft 19th overall, 1974
Michigan Stags
Playing career 1975–1983

Richard Derek "Rick" Blight (October 17, 1955 – April 3, 2005) was a professional hockey player.

A native of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Blight had a long and varied career in the sport of hockey, playing the position of Right Wing for teams in the NHL, MJHL, WCHL, CHL, and the AHL hockey leagues. At 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m) and 195 lb (88 kg), Blight was selected by the Michigan Stags (round 2 #19 overall) in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft and the Vancouver Canucks (round 1 #10 overall) in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. The name Blight is of Cornish origin.[1]

Playing career

Blight was the Canucks' top scorer over his first three years in the NHL, finishing fifth, first and second in team scoring in 1975, 1976 and 1977 with a total of 187 points.

Blight, who also played hockey in Switzerland, was the recipient of the WCJHL Rookie of the Year Award in 1973, and was a member of the CHL Second All-Star Team in 1981.

Blight retired from playing hockey in 1983 and began a career as a stockbroker and marketing consultant, as well as managing his family farm in his native Manitoba. In 1995, Blight was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

On April 3, 2005, Blight disappeared. Two weeks later, on April 18, after a Canada-wide search, Blight was found dead in a field on his farm near Lake Manitoba, with his pickup nearby. Blight had committed suicide. He was 49 years old.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1970–71 Portage Terriers MJHL 47 20 19 39 33
1971–72 Portage Terriers MJHL 45 32 35 67 73
1971–72Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL11010—————
1972–73Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL6831629370—————
1973–74Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL674981130122—————
1974–75Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL6560521126552356
1975–76Vancouver CanucksNHL742531562920110
1976–77Vancouver CanucksNHL7828406832—————
1977–78Vancouver CanucksNHL8025386333—————
1978–79Dallas Black HawksCHL1587157—————
1978–79Vancouver CanucksNHL56510151630442
1979–80Vancouver CanucksNHL331261854—————
1980–81Dallas Black HawksCHL7446499512260339
1980–81Vancouver CanucksNHL31014—————
1981–82Cincinnati TigersCHL3716233921—————
1981–82Wichita WindCHL161814321873036
1982–83Moncton AlpinesAHL1987156—————
1982–83New Haven NighthawksAHL471724418122354
1982–83Los Angeles KingsNHL20002—————
NHL totals 326 96 125 221 170 5 0 5 5 2

Personal

His niece, Halli Krzyzaniak was a member of the Canadian National Under 18 team that participated in a three-game series vs. the USA in August 2011.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/170168/la_id/1.htm
Preceded by
Bob Dailey		 Vancouver Canucks first round draft pick
1975 		Succeeded by
Jere Gillis
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