Rick Blight
Encyclopedia
Richard Derek Blight 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' 2" (1.87 m) and 195 lbs (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.
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 only 49 years old.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player.
A native of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
, Blight had a long and varied career in the sport of hockey, playing the position of Right Wing
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
for teams in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, MJHL
Manitoba Junior Hockey League
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The MJHL is one of eleven Junior 'A' Hockey Leagues in Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League ....
, WCHL
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
, CHL, and the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
hockey leagues. At 6' 2" (1.87 m) and 195 lbs (88 kg), Blight was selected by the Michigan Stags
Michigan Stags
The Michigan Stags were a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan that played a portion of the 1974–75 season in the World Hockey Association. On January 18, 1975, the franchise was moved to Baltimore where it was known as the Baltimore Blades. The Stags originated as the Los...
(round 2 #19 overall) in the 1974 WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
Amateur Draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
and the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
(round 1 #10 overall) in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. The name Blight is of Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
origin.
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
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, 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
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. 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
Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba is Canada's thirteenth largest lake and the world's 33rd largest freshwater lake. It is in central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which is named after the lake...
, with his pickup nearby. Blight had committed suicide. He was only 49 years old.
Awards and achievements
- 1973: WCJHL Rookie of the Year
- 1981: CHL Second All-Star Team
- “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of FameManitoba Hockey Hall of FameThe Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1985 when the first honoured members were named and plaques were erected in their honour. The first group of inductees was large in order to recognize the accomplishments of Manitoba players, coaches, builders and teams at the...
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | Brandon Wheat Kings Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They compete in the Western Hockey League, and joined the league in the 1967–68 season. Prior to that they played in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and were known as the Brandon Elks for a short time in the... |
WCHL Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada... |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WCHL | 68 | 31 | 62 | 93 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WCHL | 67 | 49 | 81 | 130 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WCHL | 65 | 60 | 52 | 112 | 65 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1975–76 | Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
74 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 28 | 40 | 68 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Dallas Black Hawks Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, Texas. They were a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum.... |
CHL | 15 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 56 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 33 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 74 | 46 | 49 | 95 | 122 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1980–81 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Cincinnati Tigers Cincinnati Tigers The Cincinnati Tigers were a professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, which played in the Negro Leagues. The Tigers were founded in 1934 by DeHart Hubbard, the first black to win an individual Olympic gold medal when he won the long jump during the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1937, the... |
CHL | 37 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Wichita Wind | CHL | 16 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1982–83 1982–83 AHL season The 1982–83 AHL season was the 47th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Rochester Americans finished first overall in the regular season, and won their fourth Calder Cup championship.-Team changes:... |
Moncton Alpines Moncton Alpines Moncton Alpines could refer to:*Moncton Wildcats - the former name of a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League*Moncton Golden Flames - the former name of a defunct professional ice hockey team based in Moncton... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
19 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | New Haven Nighthawks New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks are a former ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the Minnesota North Stars , New York Islanders , New York Rangers , and Los Angeles Kings... |
AHL | 47 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 326 | 96 | 125 | 221 | 170 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||||