David Mark Silk (born January 1, 1958) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. His professional career, which spanned 13 years, included 249

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

regular season games with the

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

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 ...

and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. Silk is arguably most famous for being a member of the 1980 US Men's hockey team that won the gold medal at the Olympics in Lake Placid. He is the cousin of former NHL and Boston Bruins player

Mike Milbury Michael James Milbury (born June 17, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current sports announcer. He played for twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), all for the Boston Bruins. He helped the Bruins reach ...

Amateur career

Silk was born in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors inhabited the ar ...

, and raised in Scituate and

Cohasset, Massachusetts Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 8,381. History Cohasset was inhabited by the Pokanoket until 1649, when it was conquered by the Wampanoag, ...

. He attended

Thayer Academy Thayer Academy (TA) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory day school located in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. The academy, conceived in 1871 at the bequest of General Sylvanus Thayer, known as the father of the United St ...

in Braintree, where he scored 85 points in his first season. He then moved to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

where he became teammates and lifelong friends with future

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...

members

Mike Eruzione Michael Anthony "Rizzo" Eruzione (, , born October 25, 1954) is an American former ice hockey player. He is best known as the captain of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States men's national ice hockey team, United States national team that defe ...

, Jim Craig, and Jack O'Callahan. Silk was a dominating force for the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's Varsity team, varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot ...

hockey team, earning all-tournament, athlete of the week, and First- Team-All- New England honors. He won the NCAA Championship in 1978 with Boston University, and was awarded New England Rookie of the Year 1976–1977.

Professional career

Drafted 59th overall by the

in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, Silk signed a contract with the Rangers on March 3, 1980, days after the Olympic gold medal game. He spent the next three seasons as a Ranger, playing mostly at right wing and center. Silk realized a childhood dream when he was traded to the

in 1983. He was claimed off waivers by the

the following season. After becoming a free agent in 1985, Silk signed with the

, finished his NHL career, and moved on to Germany for the 1986–87 season.

Post playing career

Silk retired from hockey in 1991, returning to his alma mater

where he served as the assistant men's hockey coach while attending BU's graduate school of management. Silk has been inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials an ...

United States Olympic Hall of Fame The United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic and Paralympic athletes headquartered at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, opened in April 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Hall ...

, Boston University Hall of Fame,

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

Sportsman of the Year Since its inception in 1954, ''Sports Illustrated'' has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Ame ...

, and also inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL + Amateur). While attending Boston University, Silk earned both an undergraduate degree and a Masters of Business Administration degree and is a Director of Institutional Sales in Boston. When asked if Silk still ties up the skates he said "I skate maybe once or twice a year for a charity event. I can’t say I miss it. I’m content. I’m good friends with former teammates Jack O’Callahan and also with

Jack Hughes Jack Hughes (born May 14, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). A product of the U ...

and

Ralph Cox Ralph Cox (born February 27, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 7th round (122nd overall) of the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. Cox played his high school hockey at Archbishop William ...

, who were the last two cuts from the team that year. The friendships, like I said, are the most important things for me to ever come out of my time in hockey" (Carroll). Silk competes in Ironman triathlons.

In popular culture

Rick Dano played Silk in the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

TV movie ''

''. Bobby Hanson played him in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

''. Hanson played his college hockey at Boston University, where Silk, Jack O'Callahan, and

had played. After college, Hanson played professional hockey in Europe, before a knee injury ended his career.Bobby Hanson biography at the Internet Movie Database https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1395553/bio

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* *Carroll, Robert. "Dave Silk Reflects on Golden Days Playing Hockey". Boston Globe, March 11, 2004. 9 October 2006. *"Dave Silk". 1987 NHL Amateur Draft. 9 October 2006. *"Dave Silk". Boston University Hall of Fame. 9 October 2006. *Thompson, Harry. "Bay Stater Silk Spun Dream Career Close to Home". USA Hockey Magazine, February, 2005. 9 October 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Silk, Dave 1958 births 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team American men's ice hockey right wingers Binghamton Whalers players Boston Bruins players Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Living people Maine Mariners (AHL) players Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics New Haven Nighthawks players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey Sportspeople from Scituate, Massachusetts Ice hockey people from Plymouth County, Massachusetts Sherbrooke Canadiens players Thayer Academy alumni Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions