| Nick Blankenburg | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1998, Washington, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Ntl. team |  United States of America
|
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
Nick Blankenburg (born May 12, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played college ice hockey at Michigan.
Early life[]
Blankenburg attended Romeo High School.[1] During his senior year he was team captain and recorded 35 goals and 32 assists in 30 games, and helped lead the Bulldogs to their first state championship in school history in 2016.[2][3]
Playing career[]
College[]
Blankenburg began his collegiate career for the University of Michigan during the 2018–19 season. He scored his first collegiate goal on November 10, 2018, in a game against Notre Dame.[4] He finished his freshman year with two goals and eight assists in 34 games. During the 2019–20 season in his sophomore year, he recorded four goals and 12 assists in 35 games.[5] Following the season he was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.[6] On July 10, 2020, Blankenburg was named an alternate captain for the 2020–21 season.[7] During his junior year, he recorded five goals and eight assists in 26 games. He ranked sixth in the Big Ten Conference in defenseman scoring with 13 points, and ranked third in the Big Ten, and tenth nationally, in plus–minus at +19.[5] Following the season he was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.[8]
On September 16, 2021, he was named team captain for the 2021–22 season.[9] During his senior year, he recorded a career-high 14 goals and 15 assists in 38 games. On November 26, he scored a goal and an assist in a 4–0 win over Niagara.[10] The next day against Niagara he recorded two goals and an assist in a 4–1 win, for his second consecutive multi-point game.[11] He was subsequently named the Big Ten First Star of the Week for the week ending November 30, after recording five points during the weekend series.[12] His 14 goals tied the Michigan program record for goals in a single season by a senior defenseman. He ranked second among all NCAA defensemen in goals and power play goals.[13] Following the season he was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, and a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.[14][15] He also was awarded Michigan's Big Ten Medal of Honor.[16] He finished his career at Michigan with 25 goals, 44 assists, a +52 with 10 power-play goals and three game-winning goals in 133 games.[17]
Professional[]
On April 8, 2022, Blankenburg signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the remainder of the 2021–22 NHL season.[18][19][20] He made his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets on April 13, 2022.[21][22] On April 24, in his sixth game, Blankenburg's first career NHL goal was the game-winning power play marker in a 5–2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers.[23]
International play[]
On May 5, 2022, Blankenburg was named to the United States men's national ice hockey team to compete at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.[24] He was scoreless in four games.[25]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Okotoks Oilers | AJHL | 57 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 65 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | University of Michigan | B1G | 34 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | University of Michigan | B1G | 34 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | University of Michigan | B1G | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | University of Michigan | B1G | 38 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | United States | WC | 4th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ Bernreuter, Hugh (March 12, 2016). Romeo makes first state final appearance pay off, joins list of Bulldogs' state champs.
- ↑ Hockey team wins first ever State Championship (March 14, 2016).
- ↑ Farrell, Perry A. (March 12, 2016). Romeo stuns vaunted Stevenson for Div. 2 hockey championship.
- ↑ Garske, TJ (November 10, 2018). Michigan Falls to No. 6 Notre Dame to Split Weekend Series. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Nick Blankenburg Bio. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ Hockey Postseason Honors Announced (May 11, 2020).
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (July 10, 2020). Michigan Hockey Elects Captains for 2020-21 Season. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ Hockey Postseason Honors Announced (March 16, 2021).
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (September 16, 2021). Michigan Ice Hockey Selects 2021-22 Captains. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (November 26, 2021). Michigan Offense Heats Up in Series-Opening Win Over Niagara. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (November 27, 2021). Michigan Scores Four Unanswered Goals in Win Over, Sweep of Niagara. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State Earn Three Stars Honors (December 1, 2021).
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (March 7, 2022). Blankenburg Named Senior CLASS Award Finalist. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ Hockey Postseason Honors Announced (March 15, 2022).
- ↑ Men's Ice Hockey Finalists Announced for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award (March 7, 2022).
- ↑ Blankenburg, Weissman Named Michigan's Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients. CBS Interactive (April 8, 2022).
- ↑ McNeil, Kristy (April 8, 2022). Four Wolverines Sign Professional Contracts. CBS Interactive.
- ↑ CBJ sign Michigan captain Nick Blankenburg to one-year contract (April 8, 2022).
- ↑ Hedger, Brian (April 8, 2022). Blue Jackets sign top prospect, Johnson, plus Michigan teammate Blankenburg.
- ↑ Stephen Whyno, Stephen (April 8, 2022). UM's NHL exodus begins; Power signs with Buffalo, Johnson/Blankenburg to Columbus.
- ↑ Svoboda, Jeff (April 12, 2022). Blankenburg ready to show what he's all about with Blue Jackets.
- ↑ Johnson, Bailey (April 13, 2022). Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg set for NHL debuts Wednesday against Canadiens.
- ↑ Blankenburg gets first NHL goal in Blue Jackets win over Oilers (April 24, 2022).
- ↑ Zuke, Ryan (May 5, 2022). Four UM Wolverines named to Team USA roster for World Championship.
- ↑ Potts, Andy (May 23, 2022). The kids are alright for Team USA.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database