Introduction
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.
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
- 1973: WCJHL Rookie of the Year
- 1981: CHL Second All-Star Team
- “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
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 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WCHL | 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 | 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 | 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 | ||||
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.