There are times Nick Blankenburg still can’t believe where he is in life as a professional hockey player in the best League in the world.
And not only has the 27-year-old defenseman become a regular in the Nashville Predators lineup, but as of late, he’s proven to be one of the more integral pieces of the group.
A constant on both the Preds power play and penalty killing units - and more recently filling the role of a forward on the PK - Blankenburg began the 2025-26 campaign as a healthy scratch on Nashville’s backend.
But once he dressed on Oct. 18 in Winnipeg, and then a second time on Oct. 30 in Philadelphia, there’s been no looking back.
A five-game point streak to start the month of November, followed by a four-game streak to finish the month that saw him score in three out of those four outings, helps to make Blankenburg a must-have piece on the backend.
Plus, he’s one heck of a human, too.
“I’m just super thankful for the opportunity,” Blankenburg said on the most recent episode of the Preds Official Podcast. “And I think sometimes when the puck is just going in the net, you’ve just got to appreciate it and just keep on going and take it day-by-day… I just try and be where I am in the moment and have some fun, too. It's been honestly a blast.”
A walk-on at the University of Michigan in 2018, Blankenburg eventually captained the team. Undrafted, the 5-foot-9 blueliner joined the Columbus Blue Jackets following his senior season and had a couple of campaigns with the Jackets organization.
In the summer of 2024, he inked a two-year deal with Nashville, and after starting last season in Milwaukee, Blankenburg was recalled and never looked back. The Washington, Michigan, native appeared in 60 games with the Preds last season, and he made the club out of training camp in the fall, but the depth chart didn’t fall in his favor to start.
That’s no longer the case, just one more instance of things taking a minute to transpire for Blankenburg. But once they do? He seemingly takes full advantage every time.
“I think my faith plays a huge role in that, and my relationship with Christ,” Blankenburg said of his career trajectory to this point. “I feel like in the moment when you're a walk-on at Michigan, or you're just trying to get a Division I scholarship, and you are healthy scratch, I feel like it's so easy to let your identity get tied up in hockey and in success and kind of wanting that, I guess in my work. Those earthly desires and those earthly passions, those aren't bad things, but I just think I try and keep my identity rooted in my relationship with Christ, and I think that just gives me so much peace and joy to just to go out there and play.
“I mean, God’s put me in every single opportunity and every different season of life for a specific reason, and I think every single season that I go into, it's been the same thing so far, where I feel like I have to prove myself… I’m just super blessed and super thankful for that. So, for me, just continue to take it day-by-day and just enjoy the moment. And obviously, when the puck's going in the net and you're playing well, just do whatever you can to just keep going.”
Blankenburg answered a number of fan-submitted questions during the interview, but one inquiry regarding the best piece of advice he’s ever received delivered something just about everyone could use.
He’s uttered the phrase before in interviews, most recently during training camp as he worked to make the team, but the line from Blankenburg’s father, Karl, might as well be straight out of "Ted Lasso," one of the defenseman’s favorite television shows.
“My mind went straight to my dad,” Blankenburg said. “I mean, this sounds so cliche, but I feel like the older you get, the more you realize how much wisdom your parents have. I feel like everyone goes through a stage where you're like, ‘Oh yeah, sure, dad. Whatever you say.’ But one of them, he always just tells me, and we joke about it now, but he always just says, ‘Do your best and forget the rest.’ And I feel like that's just really stuck with me, especially as I've gotten older over the last two years. We’ll talk the day of a game or the night before the game, and he's like, ‘You know what I'm going to say, right?’ And I'm like, ‘Yeah, do your best and forget the rest.’ So, forget the rest.”
Click here to listen or watch Blankenburg’s full interview on the Preds Official Podcast.
