Rick Blight

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

Rick Blight
Born (1955-10-17)October 17, 1955
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
Died April 3, 2005(2005-04-03) (aged 49)
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
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
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 10th overall, 1975
Vancouver Canucks
WHA Draft 19th overall, 1974
Michigan Stags
Playing career 1975–1983

A native of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Blight had a long and varied hockey career as a Right Wing for teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Central Hockey League (CHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). After playing junior hockey in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League, Blight was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. Blight was also drafted by the Michigan Stags in the second round of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, but did not play in the WHA.[1] The name Blight is of Cornish origin.[2]

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 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.[1]

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 a farm near Lake Manitoba in his pickup truck.[3] He had committed suicide.[4]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    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 KingsWCHL11010113148
1972–73Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL683162937060110
1973–74Brandon Wheat KingsWCHL67498113012260110
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—————
1981–82SC BernNDA
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
CHL totals 142 88 93 181 168 13 3 3 6 15

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1975 Canada WJC 6 2 2 4 4

Personal

His niece, Halli Krzyzaniak, currently plays in the Canadian Women's Hockey League for the Calgary Inferno.[5]

gollark: I mean, it's the second generation of that to contain a shimmer.
gollark: Coming Soon: Rhenium Dragons! Basically just golds but recolored grey!
gollark: Also, uranium-235.
gollark: I mean, platinum too.
gollark: Things which are rare/expensive IRL:antimatteriridiumosmiumpalladiumrheniumrhodiumtechnetium

References
  1. "1975 NHL Draft Pick: Rick Blight". HockeyDraftCentral.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. "Cornish Family Names". Gould Genealogy & History. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010.
  3. "Ex-Canuck Star dead at 49". CBC News. April 18, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  4. Hackel, Stu (September 1, 2011). "Wade Belak's death poses key questions". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. Brad Elliott Schlossman (October 17, 2013). "WOMEN'S HOCKEY: UND freshman defenseman makes immediate impact". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
Preceded by
Bob Dailey		 Vancouver Canucks first round draft pick
1975		 Succeeded by
Jere Gillis
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