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Rick Nash

Born:June 16, 1984Draft:Blue Jackets 2002 #1 Overall
Hometown:Brampton, ONPosition:LW
Known For:Rocket Richard TrophyShoots:Left
National Team:Canada

Richard McLaren Nash (born June 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who currently serves as the special assistant to the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). After being selected first overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus, he played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, and was selected to play in six National Hockey League All-Star Games.

Prior to turning professional, Nash was a highly regarded prospect with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he spent two seasons, earning the Emms Family Award in 2001 as the League’s Rookie of the Year. He began his NHL career with the Blue Jackets immediately following his draft, in 2002–03, and was nominated for the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. In his second NHL season, Nash scored 41 goals to tie with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk as winners of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer. Nash is a six-time NHL All-Star and was also awarded the NHL Foundation Player Award in the 2008–09 season for his charitable work in the Columbus community.

Internationally, Nash has represented Team Canada, with whom he has won one gold and two silver medals at the World Championships, and two gold medals at the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014. Additionally, he has represented Canada at the 2002 World Junior Championships, helping the team to a silver medal, and also competed for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Rick Nash Columbus Blue Jackets
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

Rick Nash Statistics

Deeper Dive

Achievements

  • Had his jersey No. 61 retired by the Blue Jackets on March 5, 2022
  • 6x NHL All-Star Game (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015)
  • 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (2010, 2014)
  • NHL Foundation Player Award (2009)
  • 3x World Championship All-Star Team (2005, 2007, 2008)
  • World Championship Silver Medal (2005, 2008)
  • 2x World Championship Top 3 Player on Team Canada (2007, 2008)
  • World Championship Most Valuable Player (2007)
  • World Championship Gold Medal (2007)
  • NLA Champion (Davos) (2005)
  • NLA Forward of the Year (2005)
  • Spengler Cup All-Star Team (2005)
  • Spengler Cup Winner (Davos) (2005)
  • Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (2004)
  • NHL All-Rookie Team (2003)
  • NHL YoungStars Roster (2003)
  • CHL Top Prospects Game (2002)
  • U20 WJC Silver Medal (2002)
  • CHL All-Rookie Team (2001)
  • OHL First All-Rookie Team (2001)
  • OHL Rookie of the Year (Emms Family Award) (2001)
  • Toronto Marlboros’ Buck Houle Award (2000)

Sources