John Joseph Blum (born September 8, 1959) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

between 1982 and 1990. He also spent considerable time in the minor

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, and retired in 1995.

Playing career

Blum was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in

Harper Woods, Michigan Harper Woods is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 15,492 at the 2020 census. Harper Woods is a northeastern suburb of Metro Detroit and shares its southern and western border with the city of Det ...

. His high school hockey teammates were comedian

Dave Coulier David Alan Coulier ( ; born September 21, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, and television host. He played Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'', voiced Peter Venkman on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', and voiced ...

and other well known players and personalities. Blum played both high school and college hockey under head coach John Giordano. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 1981, Blum played mostly in the minors before being traded to the

, a team that he would play for three different times during his career. He also played for the

and

. Blum scored in first NHL goal on April 1, 1984—in the last game of Boston's 1983-84 schedule—during his team's 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. It was the game-winning goal.

Post-playing career

Blum would later serve as an assistant coach in the minor leagues for the Detroit Falcons,

Saginaw Lumber Kings The Saginaw Gears were a minor professional ice hockey franchise that played in the United Hockey League (UHL), formerly known as the Colonial Hockey League. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to December 19, 199 ...

, Detroit Vipers,

Toledo Storm The Toledo Storm were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the eastern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors ...

, and

Motor City Mechanics The Motor City Mechanics were a minor professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League. The Mechanics played two seasons from 2004 to 2006 at Great Lakes Sports City Superior Arena in Fraser, Michigan. History The team got a major boost d ...

. He is also a new addition to the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Team and a former employee at De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, MI.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, John 1959 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins players Capital District Islanders players Detroit Falcons (CoHL) players Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Detroit Maine Mariners (AHL) players Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Moncton Alpines (AHL) players Moncton Golden Flames players Undrafted National Hockey League players Washington Capitals players Wichita Wind players