John Blue (ice hockey)

John Thomas Blue (born February 19, 1966) is a former ice hockey goaltender. During the 1983–84 season he played in the USHL for the Des Moines Buccaneers.[1] He was drafted in the tenth round, 197th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Blue made his NHL debut on January 7, 1993 vs. the Quebec Nordiques.[2] He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres and was the first Californian goaltender in the history of the National Hockey League.

John Blue
Born (1966-02-19) February 19, 1966
Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
National team  United States
NHL Draft 197th overall, 1986
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1987–1995

Blue was born in Huntington Beach, California, then left for Spokane, Washington at age 5. He began ice skating in Spokane, then after his family moved to San Jose, he became youth goaltender for the Santa Clara Blackhawks [3] in Northern California.[4]

Blue was the starting goaltender for each of his three seasons on the University of Minnesota hockey team (1984–87). He was named a WCHA First Team All-Star in 1986[5] and won 64 games during his Gopher career, the fourth highest win total in team history.[6] He was a backup goalie for the U.S. national team in the 1988 Winter Olympics.[7]

Throughout his career, he called Huntington Beach his offseason home. He currently works as a pastor after having become deeply involved in religious studies during his playing days.[8]

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1984–85 [9]
All-WCHA First Team 1985–86 [9]
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References
  1. "John Blue at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.
  2. "Quebec Nordiques at Boston Bruins Box Score — January 7, 1993 - Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com.
  3. "Blackhawks Soaring to New Heights" (PDF). calirubber.com. Good Sport Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  4. "Orange County Register - John Blue spent life as hockey goalie, then God called (June 12, 2013)". 2013-06-12.
  5. "John Blue". NHL Player Search: Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  6. "Goaltending Records". Gophersports.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  7. "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- John Blue". www.legendsofhockey.net.
  8. "livinglightnews.org - livinglightnews Resources and Information". www.livinglightnews.org.
  9. "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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