Jeff Christian
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Jeffrey Christian (born July 30, 1970) is a Canadian-American former
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 h ...
forward who was drafted 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. He played 18 games 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 ...
for the New Jersey Devils,
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
, and the Phoenix Coyotes and played professionally in North American and Europe for over two decades. After his playing career was completed, Christian joined the Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets as a head coach for parts of three seasons. Christian was hired by the
Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...
midway into the 2015-16 as an assistant coach and was later named Head Coach, holding the position from July 2016 to the completion of the 2017–18 season.


Playing career

Born in
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Christian was drafted 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft and attended six NHL training camps with the Devils. Christian played two games for New Jersey during the 1991–92 season, scoring no points. He played in the
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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) with the
Utica Devils The Utica Devils were a professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. History The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the Nationa ...
and the Albany River Rats. After four full seasons with the Devils organization, Christian signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He appeared in 15 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins over three seasons, scoring two goals and two assists during the 1996–97 season. During these years, Christian played alongside the all time NHL greats like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Petr Nedved, Tomas Sandstrom, Luc Robitallie, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen and John Cullen. Christian was the MVP of the
Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...
, scoring 40 goals and 40 assists in 66 games during the 1996–97 International Hockey League (IHL) season. Christian played one more game in the NHL for the Phoenix Coyotes, then two more years in the IHL for the Las Vegas Thunder and Houston Aeros before returning to the Lumberjacks. Christian then moved to Europe, spending four seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the
Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liabil ...
, DEG Metro Stars, and
Hannover Scorpions The Hannover Scorpions are a professional ice hockey team, which plays in the Oberliga, Germany's third tier ice hockey league. They previously played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1996 to 2013. History Founded in 1975 as ESC Wedemark, the ...
; and one season in the
Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for the
Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...
. Christian returned to North America in 2005 joining the
Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
's Youngstown Steelhounds and
Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...
. After two successful seasons with the Oilers, Jeff was the first player signed by the CHL expansion team, the
Missouri Mavericks The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League, CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena. H ...
, for the 2009–10 season. He also served as an assistant coach for the Mavericks. On September 11, 2010, he signed for the CHL's
Mississippi RiverKings The Mississippi RiverKings were a professional minor league ice hockey team. The RiverKings were a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League from 2011 to 2018 after playing their first nineteen seasons (1992–2011) in the Central Hock ...
, based in
Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi and the second most populous ...
, twenty minutes away from
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, where his daughter, Ryan, was being treated for cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. On February 22, 2011, the RiverKings waived Christian, but he was picked up on waivers the next day by the
Evansville IceMen The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four po ...
, also of the CHL. In his final game, Christian had an assist and scored the game-winning goal in a shoot-out. He is one of only a few players in hockey history to play over 1400 professional games (1406) while scoring over 500 goals (574), over 700 assists (792) and having over 3300 penalty minutes (3370).


Coaching and Consulting Career

Throughout his playing career, Christian held the role of player/assistant coach several times. In the summer of 2006 when the Youngstown Steelhounds (Central Hockey League) fired Head Coach Jean LaForest they turned to Christian to evaluate the hockey operations department, recruit and sign players. The Missouri Mavericks (Central Hockey League) signed Christian as the 1st player ever in their history. In the role of player/assistant coach, Christian helped build the inaugural Mavericks team along with Head Coach Scott Hillman. Christian took a break from hockey and coaching while fighting cancer with his daughter Ryan. After her passing, Christian became Head Coach of the AAA Ohio Jr BlueJackets for two and a half seasons. He coached the 2002 birth year and the 2003 birth year. He took the 2002 Pee Wee to the prestigious Quebec World Pee Wee Tournament. After a chance meeting with Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant General Manager Bill Guerin at a Cleveland area rink, Christian was hired as an assistant coach for the
Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...
of the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
in January 2016. Took over as head coach of the Nailers during the second round of the
2016 Kelly Cup playoffs The 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs of the ECHL started April 13, 2016, following the conclusion of the 2015–16 ECHL regular season. The championship was won on June 9 by the Allen Americans. Playoff format At the end of the regular season the top tea ...
when David Gove took a personal leave of absence to deal with his drug addiction. Christian guided the Nailers to the Kelly Cup finals, losing to the
Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played f ...
in six games. On July 12, 2016, Christian was named as the Nailers' head coach. After a two-year stint as the Nailers' head coach, his contract was not renewed after not making the Kelly Cup playoffs in either season. It was reported that he was harassing female fans. Under his guidance the Nailers had a winning regular season record of 69-58-16-1. Also, Christian shares the All Time Nailers' playoff wins record with 10. Since parting ways with the Nailers, Christian became a skill coach in the Columbus, Ohio area working with individual players, their families and teams. Also, Christian was flown to Austria to consult with Villach in the top Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). Since this consulting trip Christian has become a Hockey Consultant working closely with several North American and European teams. Amongst the many services he provides are player evaluations, player recruiting, agent/team relations, staff and systems evaluation. While with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, Christian was Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of their AA affiliate in Wheeling, WV. He was responsible for all aspects of the Hockey Operations Department including recruiting/signing players, arranging housing, planning the season schedule and coordinating road trips, public appearances include radio/TV and delivering Christmas gifts to the less fortunate. Christian also oversaw the Hockey Operations budget and managed the salary cap. Christian attended the NHL Draft, Prospect, Development and Training Camps with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jeff was actively involved in these camps evaluating the players and went on the ice with Penguins players/prospects. Currently, Christian is head coach for the Northeast Storm, a Columbus area high school varsity team.


Personal and philanthropic life

Born in Burlington, Ontario, Jeff spent the first seven years of his life in the tough east end of
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
, where he later trained at the famous McGory's boxing gym as a teen. Jeff is the son of two time Grey Cup Champion with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, tight end Gord Christian. The Christian family moved to the small village of Mount Hope where Gord, and mother Diane, raised seven children. Three of these brothers, Gord, Brandon, and Michael, played professional hockey. Jeff was a stand out athlete at Ancaster High School and enshrined on the Ancaster High School Wall of Fame. He played hockey, football and basketball. As quarterback and linebacker of the Ancaster Royals JV team, Christian won championships two out of three years. Jeff and Dorie Christian were married July 21, 2001 at the Old Mill in Ancaster, Ontario. They have two daughters, Ryan Elise and Tyler Rachel. The Christian's lost Ryan Elise to an extremely rare cancer on January 24, 2013, after a three-year fight. Throughout his playing career, Jeff was award the Community Service Award for giving back to children and the community. The Jeff Christian Charitable Foundation was founded in 2005 in Youngstown, Ohio to benefit under privileged children in the area. The JCCF later benefited the children in the great Tulsa area as well. After being signed with the Missouri Mavericks, he lived in the Kansas City suburb of
Blue Springs, Missouri Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. state of Missouri within Jackson County. Blue Springs is located east of downtown Kansas City and is the 9th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population wa ...
, with his wife, Dorie and daughter, Ryan. While playing with the Mavericks, Ryan (age 8) was diagnosed with Pediatric Adrenal cortical Carcinoma, a rare cancer. Ryan was treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. Christian retired after the 2010–11 season. After retiring, Christian and his family moved back to the Kansas City/Independence Missouri area where Jeff became the first Director of Hockey at the Carriage Club. The Christian family's journey and Ryan's fight were the subject of a feature article in Sports Net Magazine. As Ryan's three year fight progressed the Christian Family moved to Columbus Ohio. On January 24, 2013, Ryan lost her three-year battle with cancer. Currently living in the Columbus, Ohio area with his family, he founded and runs the Team Ryan Charitable Foundation. Th
Team Ryan Charitable Foundation
for Pediatric Cancer Research has been established to honor Ryan, raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer research. As Founder and President, Jeff is directly responsible for organizing, planning, promoting and executing fundraisers that benefit leading pediatric cancer research institutes such as St Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Princess Margaret Cancer Center. Jeff often gives talks/speeches on numerous subjects ranging from his life in minor league hockey to what life after losing a child is like. Christian is also a certified Realtor and a hockey skills coach/consultant.


Awards and accolades

*1990-91: Leading Rookie Scorer,
Utica Devils The Utica Devils were a professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. History The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the Nationa ...
(AHL) *1990-91: Rookie Of The Year, Utica Devils (AHL) *1994-95: Community Service Award,
Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...
(IHL) *1996-97: Team MVP, Cleveland Lumberjacks (IHL) *1998-99: John Cullen Award (Sportsmanship), Houston Aeros (IHL) *1998-99: Turner Cup Champion, Houston Aeros (IHL) *1999-00: Community Service Award, Cleveland Lumberjacks (IHL) *2005-06: First Team All-Star,
Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
*2005-06: Most Valuable Player runner-up, Central Hockey League *2005-06; 2006-07: Scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back CHL All-Star Games. Christian's sticks from those respective games are currently in the Hockey Hall Of Fame archives. *2006-07: Leading Scorer, Central Hockey League *2006-07: First-Team All Star, Central Hockey League *2006-07: League MVP, Central Hockey League Christian wore a Captain's letter on his jersey 11 seasons and played in 5 All Star Games.


Career statistics


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Jeff 1970 births Living people New Jersey Devils draft picks Albany River Rats players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Cleveland Lumberjacks players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players DEG Metro Stars players Evansville IceMen players Hamilton Canucks players Hannover Scorpions players Ice hockey people from Ontario Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Krefeld Pinguine players Las Vegas Thunder players London Knights players Mississippi RiverKings (CHL) players Missouri Mavericks players New Jersey Devils players Owen Sound Platers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Phoenix Coyotes players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Sheffield Steelers players Sportspeople from Burlington, Ontario Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Utica Devils players Youngstown Steelhounds players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States