You probably won’t find Mike “Doc” Christian’s name in the program at an Albert Lea boys’ hockey game, but he’s there. He has been for the past 28 years in nearly the same spot at every home game.

Standing on the left edge of the Albert Lea bench, Doc is there ready to come to the aid of injured players at any time.

Tigers’ head coach Roy Nystrom calls him an unsung hero for his work.

“He’s got that touch,” Nystrom said. “He’s kept a lot of our guys in the lineup that might not have been able to play without him.”

Nystrom knows because he’s been one of Doc’s patients for a number of years. Nystrom had a partial dislocation in his ankle that other doctors couldn’t figure out, but Doc was able to mend the old injury back when the two played on a city softball team in the late 1970s.

Doc is a chiropractor by trade and became involved with the team in 1980 when his son Jon played on the varsity squad as a sophomore. Doc offered up his services with no strings attached.

“He treats all the kids and he doesn’t get any money, he just does it as a volunteer,” Nystrom said.

Although he can’t help with every injury he does work on a host of dislocations, separations and other injuries all at no cost to the players.

Name: Mike Christian 66

Age: 66

Address: 1820 Bayview Drive, Albert Lea

Livelihood: chiropractor

Family: wife, MaryAnn; daughters Deborah, Becky and Judy; sons Jon and Peter.

Interesting fact: Christian helped friends build a house from start to finish on an island on Lake Vermilion.

“I don’t charge,” Christian said. “That’s been the way since day one. It just happened that way. It’s a good deal for them.”

Albert Lea has had an athletic trainer on staff for the past 15 years, but Doc has continued to serve as a volunteer medical staff for the hockey team. He is not a certified athletic trainer, but because he has been with the team for so long he has maintained his role of looking after injured players on the ice.

Doc’s role is a unique one because the school has two trainers, but the situation has worked.

“Roy and Doc have just been together for so long it’s been that way,” said Albert Lea High School trainer Lynn Scheevel. “I think the system works.”

The lines of dialogue remain open between Doc and the trainers. When Doc can’t make a game or during playoff games Scheevel or Afton Wacholz, the other Albert Lea High School trainer, will be on site.

His presence has helped free up the trainers on busy nights. With Doc at hockey games, Scheevel and Wacholz are able to attend other events going on at the same time.

When Doc first started out behind the bench there were few, if any, trainers, physicians, or volunteer medical staff at hockey games and Doc was often the only one around in case of injuries. For a number of years he traveled with the team to road games and worked on players from the opposing team as well.

“The kids if they got hurt were out of luck because they didn’t have anybody to take care of them,” Christian said.

Doc took up the cause of taking care of the players partly out of his experiences when he played in Fergus Falls.

“When I grew up on the ice we had no physicians back in those days,” Christian said. “I thought that there should have been physicians or at least trainers. We had a small team and at that time we played injured. We’d tape ourselves up and go back out on the ice.”

Christian played high school hockey his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. After graduation he attended community college in Fergus Falls for two years. Then he made his way to St. Paul for chiropractic school. Shortly after finishing school he received a call from Armon Helvig who had a practice in Albert Lea.

Helvig had injured his back and was looking for someone to take over his practice. Christian obliged and has been in Albert Lea since 1966.

Out of empathy and genuine concern for athletes Christian continued to volunteer his time even after his sons Jon and Peter had passed through the program. Christian has seen a bevy of sports injuries throughout the years and he has always tried to get the players back on the ice as quickly as possible.

“I try to get them back in the qualified time so that they will not be re-injured or have residual effects down the road.”

Reducing the residual effects is a big piece of his care. Doc has seen the outcome of old hockey injuries and continues to work with some former hockey players.

Doc doesn’t have any plans of stepping aside from his role, at least none of his own.

“Roy won’t let me quit,” Christian said. “He says he needs me here.”