The Nashville Predators are riding a rollercoaster this season, bouncing back from an awful start to suddenly find themselves in the playoff hunt.
Steven Stamkos has been on fire lately, lighting up the scoreboard with 13 goals in his last 19 games. But there’s another player who’s quietly becoming the team’s secret weapon.
Meet Nick Blankenburg. The young defenseman is having a breakout year that nobody saw coming.
He’s already racked up 21 points in just 42 games this season – blowing past his previous best of 16 points in 60 games last year.
“This kid, I mean, you want to talk about an underdog story,” says former Predators goalie Chris Mason. “He’s such a great person. He’s the hardest working guy out there.”
What makes Blankenburg special isn’t just the points. He’s not the biggest player on the ice, but he plays like he is. He throws his body around, makes opponents pay near the net, and has become one of the team’s most versatile players.
He’s even pulling double duty on special teams – killing penalties as both a forward and defenseman. That’s pretty rare in today’s NHL.
“In every metric, he’s only second behind Roman Josi,” Mason points out, comparing Blankenburg to the Predators’ star defenseman.
The big question now is whether Nashville can keep him long-term. Mason thinks other teams are starting to notice: “If the Preds aren’t able to lock him up, I think that’s going to be an attractive guy for a lot of teams.”
For a player who wasn’t exactly a household name coming into the season, Blankenburg is making people remember who he is now.
His emergence couldn’t have come at a better time for Nashville. As they push for a playoff spot, they’ll need every bit of that underdog spirit he brings to the ice.
