John Blue (ice hockey)
John Thomas Blue (born February 19, 1966) is an American former ice hockey goaltender. He played 46 games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres between 1992 and 1996. The majority of his career, which lasted from 1987 to 1995, was spent in various minor leagues. Internationally Blue was part of the American national team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, but did not play. He also was part of the American team at three World Championships, though only played one game, in the 1990 and 1997 tournaments.
| John Blue | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 19, 1966 Huntington Beach, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Right | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
197th overall, 1986 Winnipeg Jets | ||
| Playing career | 1987–1997 | ||
Playing career
Blue was the starting goaltender for each of his three seasons on the University of Minnesota hockey team (1984–87). He was named a WCHA First Team All-Star in 1986[1] and won 64 games during his Gopher career, the fourth highest win total in team history.[2]
During the 1983–84 season he played in the USHL for the Des Moines Buccaneers.[3] He was drafted in the tenth round, 197th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Blue made his NHL debut on January 7, 1993 against the Quebec Nordiques.[4] He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres and was the first Californian goaltender in the history of the National Hockey League.
International play
He was a backup goalie for the American national team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, but did not play any games.[5] Blue was also part of the American team at the 1990 and 1992 World Championships, only played 5 games in 1990. Named to the national team once more for the 1997 World Championships, he played in one game.
Personal life
Blue was born in Huntington Beach, California, then left for Spokane, Washington at age 5. He began ice skating in Spokane, then after his family moved to San Jose, he became youth goaltender for the Santa Clara Blackhawks [6] in Northern California.[7]
Throughout his career, he called Huntington Beach his offseason home. He currently works as a pastor after having become deeply involved in religious studies during his playing days.[8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1983–84 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 15 | — | — | — | 753 | 63 | 0 | 5.02 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 34 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 1964 | 111 | 2 | 3.39 | .886 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 29 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1588 | 80 | 2 | 3.02 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 33 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 1889 | 99 | 3 | 3.14 | .889 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | United States | Intl | 13 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 588 | 33 | 0 | 3.37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 15 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 847 | 65 | 0 | 4.60 | .874 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 9.00 | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 17 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 970 | 69 | 0 | 4.27 | .879 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Virginia Lancers | ECHL | 10 | — | — | — | 570 | 38 | 0 | 4.00 | .896 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 19 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 986 | 92 | 0 | 5.65 | .853 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Knoxville Cherokees | ECHL | 19 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1000 | 85 | 0 | 5.15 | .877 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 232 | 18 | 0 | 4.65 | .892 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 545 | 22 | 0 | 2.42 | .927 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 10.50 | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Albany Choppers | IHL | 19 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 1077 | 71 | 0 | 3.96 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 2 | 0 | 1.88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 12 | 0 | 3.00 | .896 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Knoxville Cherokees | ECHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 149 | 13 | 0 | 5.23 | .849 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 43 | 11 | 23 | 6 | 2168 | 165 | 1 | 4.57 | .862 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1322 | 64 | 1 | 2.90 | .893 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 5 | 0 | 3.12 | .898 | ||
| 1992–93 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1159 | 67 | 0 | 3.47 | .898 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 18 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 944 | 47 | 0 | 2.99 | .885 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 24 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 1298 | 76 | 1 | 3.51 | .880 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 577 | 30 | 0 | 3.11 | .888 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 219 | 19 | 0 | 5.19 | .854 | ||
| 1995–96 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 255 | 15 | 0 | 3.52 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 309 | 21 | 0 | 4.07 | .866 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 249 | 19 | 0 | 4.58 | .844 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 14 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 672 | 41 | 0 | 3.66 | .878 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 2.24 | .909 | ||
| 1996–97 | Austin Ice Bats | WPHL | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1955 | 113 | 1 | 3.47 | .906 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 97 | 11 | 0 | 6.82 | .836 | ||
| NHL totals | 46 | 16 | 18 | 7 | 2522 | 126 | 1 | 3.00 | .890 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 5 | 0 | 3.12 | .898 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | United States | WC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 204 | 17 | 0 | 4.99 | — | |
| 1997 | United States | WC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | .958 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 264 | 18 | 0 | 4.09 | — | |||
References
- "John Blue". NHL Player Search: Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- "Goaltending Records". Gophersports.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- "John Blue at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.
- "Quebec Nordiques at Boston Bruins Box Score — January 7, 1993 - Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com.
- "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- John Blue". www.legendsofhockey.net.
- "Blackhawks Soaring to New Heights" (PDF). calirubber.com. Good Sport Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- "Orange County Register - John Blue spent life as hockey goalie, then God called (June 12, 2013)". 2013-06-12.
- "livinglightnews.org - livinglightnews Resources and Information". www.livinglightnews.org.
- "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- John Blue @ hockeygoalies.org