Blankenburg's Breakout: From Overlooked to Potentially Indispensable
Third pairing defenseman Nick Blankenburg is currently Nashville's best player, and it isn't even close.
The Nashville Predators’ best player right now isn’t a previous Norris or Vezina Trophy winner, a former Cup winner, or even what GM Barry Trotz would call a “serial winner”. It’s former Michigan walk-on turned collegiate captain, undrafted and often overlooked NHL defenseman Nick Blankenburg.
The 27-year-old Michigan native came into Nashville’s lineup this season after being healthy scratched for the first ten games and has been one of the few bright spots in an early season of disappointment. With four goals and eleven points in his 15 games, Blankenburg has proved himself nearly indispensable in every aspect of the game.
At five on five, Blankenburg has been defensively solid with partner Spencer Stastney, but his rising value of late has come on special teams. Three of Blankenburg’s four goals and nearly half of his points this season have come on the power play. Blankenburg stepped up and played point for the top power play unit in Roman Josi’s absence. Also of note, he’s recorded the primary assist on half of Steven Stamkos’ goals on the man advantage and even strength.
With the absence of Cole Smith, Blakenburg has stepped into a new role on the penalty kill playing the forward position when the Predators are a man down. The opportunity hasn’t come without a learning curve, but Blankenburg has embraced the challenge to add even more value to his game.
“I think there’s small adjustments,” Blankenburg said of playing a forward on the PK.
“Mac [Michael McCarron] has done a really good job with me. I think sometimes my mind kind of goes as a defenseman sometimes, where I’ve got to focus on being more so of a forward in certain situations and plays.”
“It’s been really good, and it’s exciting. It’s fun to be as a forward for a little bit.”
The forward position is not new territory for Blankenburg. He played forward most of his young career until his AAA Victory Honda 18U team was faced with a challenging situation. During the 2016-17 season, the team was down a defenseman and forward Blankenburg stepped up to play on the blue line. He has remained a defenseman throughout his years with the University of Michigan, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and now the Predators.
While Barry Trotz has talked about wanting to make the defense younger and bigger, the 5’9” Blankenburg has proven game after game that he can compete and contribute at the NHL level. Being the undersized underdog isn’t a role he dwells on. He’s focused on the work.
“When I wasn’t playing for whatever the first however many games it was, I feel like I kept on myself. I’ve been in this situation before whether it was being a walk on at Michigan or same kind of thing happened in Columbus.”
Now a big question for Barry Trotz is what to do with the upcoming unrestricted free agent. Blankenburg has proven himself with the Predators but could garner attention ahead of the trade deadline. With a team friendly league minimum contract, he could be a nice depth addition for a team looking for a more well rounded third pairing defenseman.
But should Trotz give up one of this season’s best players as he finally embraces a somewhat nebulous “build”? Despite Blankenburg’s performance, the defenseman isn’t likely to bring Nashville a huge haul in return. Trotz will have to decide whether cashing in a low cost, high value contributor could give Nashville a legitimate chance to turn a mid to late round draft pick or obscure prospect into another surprise gem.
Regardless of what jersey Blankenburg is wearing at the end of the 2025-26 season, he remains focused on his role on and off the ice.
“I think a big thing for me is my identity isn’t found in hockey or a good game or bad game. It’s found in my relationship with Christ, and I feel like that’s just really given me a lot of peace to go out there and play and let the rest take care of itself.”
