DAVID CRUIKSHANK
HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH

David Cruiksank is in his first season with the Chicago Blackhawks as High Performance Coach. He will focus on Skating and Performance Development with the Blackhawks players and their Minor League affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

David's skating accomplishments started in Northbrook, Illinois where he was driven to follow in the footsteps of Northbrook's strong tradition of Speed Skating Olympians. In the Junior ranks, David won five National Championships. While still a junior at the age of 16, he earned the right to compete in his first World Indoor Championships in Chamonix, France. The following year David went on to win the 500m at the 1987 Junior World Championships.

Entering the senior rankings at the age of 18, he got the chance to earn his first Olympic team berth by winning the 1988 US Olympic Team Trials in the 1000m. David went on to represent his country in a total of four Olympic games (1988, 1992, 1994, 1998) and skated internationally for 16 years. His career included winning medals in National Championships, World Cup, Olympic Trials, and Junior World Championships.

David is the owner of DC Hybrid Skating at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His company strives to be an industry leader, always  finding new and innovative ways of teaching hockey skating elements both on and off the ice. David has done consulting work for players and teams in the National Hockey League as well as players and associations around the world.

Cruikshank graduated summa cum laude from Carroll College with a degree in Business Management.

In 1996, David married speed skating legend and 5 time Gold Medal winner Bonnie Blair. They have two children; a son, Grant, and a daughter, Blair, and live in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.