BLOOMINGTON, MINN. - A key figure in the University of Minnesota Duluth's development as a Division I hockey program,  Keith Christansen has been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Decade for the 1960s. 

During his career, Christiansen amassed 196 points on 75 goals and 121 assists in 102 games and shared the Bulldogs record for the most points scored in one game when he tallied six assists against Minnesota in the inaugural game at the Duluth Arena. The six helpers is still tied for the most by a WCHA player in a single game. 

In 1966-67, "Huffer" earned All-WCHA and All-America honors after winning the league's scoring championship with 46 points on 15 goals and 31 assists in UMD's second season as a WCHA member. Other collegiate honors include team  MVP as a freshman, junior, and senior, NCAA All-American and all WCHA first team in 1966-67, and UMD's Outstanding Senior Athlete Award in 1966-67 after he was team captain. In 1988, Christiansen was the first Bulldog athlete to have his jersey retired. 

In international competition, Christiansen represented the United States at the 1969, 1970, and 1971 IIHF World Championships. He was captain and one of the leading scorers for the 1972 silver medal-winning United States Olympic Team in Sapporo, Japan. 

In 1972, after the Olympic Games, Christiansen went to play professional hockey and was signed by the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the newly formed World Hockey Association (WHA). He retired from hockey in 1975 after helping the Fighting Saints to the WHA playoffs in 1972-73 and 1973-74. 

The Fort Frances, Ont., native became a charter member of the University of Minnesota Duluth, Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991, was honored as one of the "Top 50 Players in 50 Years" of the WCHA in 2002 and was inducted into the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in  2005. 

Christiansen is the second of seven Player of the Decade honorees that will be announced by the WCHA during the 2020-21 season.