Richard Derek Blight (October 17, 1955 – April 3, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey player.
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. The name Blight is of Cornish 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 was the recipient of the WCHL 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. Blight also curled during this time, and was a member of the Don Spriggs curling team.
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. He had died by suicide.
Awards and achievements 1973: WCHL Rookie of the Year 1981: CHL Second All-Star Team Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs 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 — — — — — 1971–72 Brandon Wheat Kings WCHL 1 1 0 1 0 11 3 1 4 8 1972–73 Brandon Wheat Kings WCHL 68 31 62 93 70 6 0 1 1 0 1973–74 Brandon Wheat Kings WCHL 67 49 81 130 122 6 0 1 1 0 1974–75 Brandon Wheat Kings WCHL 65 60 52 112 65 5 2 3 5 6 1975–76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 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 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 CHL 37 16 23 39 21 — — — — — 1981–82 SC Bern NDA — — — — — — — — — — 1981–82 Wichita Wind CHL 16 18 14 32 18 7 3 0 3 6 1982–83 Moncton Alpines AHL 19 8 7 15 6 — — — — — 1982–83 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 47 17 24 41 8 12 2 3 5 4 1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — NHL totals 326 96 125 221 170 5 0 5 5 2
International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1975 Canada WJC 6 2 2 4 4 Junior totals 6 2 2 4 4
Personal His niece, Halli Krzyzaniak, played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League for the Calgary Inferno.
References
External links
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com Rick Blight's biography at the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame