Nick Blankenburg didn’t take a traditional path to the NHL. The defenseman signed a two-year with the Nashville Predators over the offseason but along the way his journey had intriguing pit stops.
From playing at Romeo High School & for Victoria Honda in Detroit, Michigan he had to pave his way to even reach the collegiate level.
Formerly a forward for three years while playing at Romeo, Blankenburg made the jump to defense with Victory Honda (2016-17) as he was attempting to reach the next level. A scout from the Alberta Junior Hockey League kept tabs on him & passed along his card.
“That year was go all in or quit. I chose to go all in,” Blankenburg said. “That was a big learning lesson for me being 18 years old trying to commit myself to something I dreamed of & that was to play college hockey.”
Blankenburg moved to Okotoks, Alberta to play for the Okotoks Oilers (2017-18) for a year in hopes of furthering his career & realizing his dream. He made the most of it scoring 42 points in 57 games with the Oilers.
“That year [in the AJHL] taught me a lot about hard work, commitment, & trusting the plan I had for myself & what I believe in. That helped me get to college & continue to have that same belief in myself throughout those years.”
Once a recruiter from the University of Michigan found an outlier playing in Alberta, he made the trip to see Blankenburg to discuss playing collegiately for the Wolverines in the fall of 2018.
“I tried to be a sponge in all aspects, junior hockey, being around those guys to then college,” Blankenburg said. “It’s crazy how things work out, my name was maybe highlighted more because I was from Michigan & playing in the AJHL.”
Blankenburg skated in 133 games for Michigan posting 68 points. Each season he was accompanied by multiple current NHL skaters. He was teammates with Quinn Hughes, Josh Norris, Cam York, Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, Owen Power, Luke Hughes & Cam York just to name a few.
“Every time I look back at my four years at Michigan, every year I had another first-round defenseman that I was playing with or paired up with or got to watch every day in practice,” Blankenburg said.
“It was crazy to think how I ended up at Michigan & how much those guys helped me, whether that was Quinn my freshman year, Cam my second year then Luke my senior year. That pushed me over the years & gave me confidence that I can play with these guys.”
Blankenburg was Michigan’s captain his senior year notching a career-high 29 points in 38 games which caught the attention of NHL teams. He ultimately signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the remainder of the 2022 season then agreed to a two-year deal that July.
Kent Johnson was a big help to Blankenburg as the two turned pro signing their first professional deals on the same day. Then they had their debuts together against the Montreal Canadiens five days later.
The main difference to Blankenburg’s path was making the bold decision to bet on himself, but more importantly, making the most of uncharted territory of playing defense.
“Once I made that switch from forward to defense, I really wanted to dial in everything that came along with defense,” Blankenburg said. “I didn’t want to be a defensive defenseman, but I knew if I wanted to make it to the next level I had to play back.
“There’s a select few amount of guys in the world that are gifted offensively where they can get away with being [offensive minded]. I fine-tuned both sides of the rink to be trusted on both ends of the ice.”
Blankenburg was enticed to sign in Nashville after having a few conversations with the Predators & what they’re about as an organization this summer. Having the Milwaukee Admirals was a bonus as well with their well-regarded reputation in the AHL.
“I thought between here & Milwaukee, it was a great opportunity for me to continue to develop,” Blankenburg said.
Predators head coach Andrew Brunette had glowing comments about the 26-year-old & how he’s handled stepping into a lineup during his first call to Nashville alongside defenseman Adam Wilsby.
“He’s played [in the NHL] before & he’s a highly competitive guy,” Brunette said. “It’s very nice, they’ve added a little bit of dimension to our team. I think we’ve transitioned & moved the puck much better than we have through different courses of the season.
What I like about them is they’re playing to who they are & their identity. They stay with it, they don’t either do too much or be too passive. They are who they are & they’ve really helped up in this stretch.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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