Rick Nash facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rick Nash |
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Nash with the Columbus Blue Jackets in October 2011
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| Born | June 16, 1984 Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Columbus Blue Jackets HC Davos New York Rangers Boston Bruins |
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| National team | .svg){kind=small} Canada |
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| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 2002 Columbus Blue Jackets |
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| Playing career | 2002–2018 | ||
Richard Nash (born June 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey star. He is famous for his time as a player in the National Hockey League (NHL). After his playing career, he became the director of player development for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nash was the first player chosen in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Blue Jackets. He played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins. He was a talented goal-scorer and was chosen for six NHL All-Star Games.
Before joining the NHL, Nash was a top young player for the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In his first year, he won the award for the league's best rookie. In only his second season in the NHL, he tied for the league lead in goals, winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Nash is considered the best player in the history of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team retired his jersey number, 61, in his honor in 2022.
Nash also had great success playing for Team Canada. He won two Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014. He also won a gold and two silver medals at the World Championships.
Contents
Hockey Career
Early Success
Rick Nash grew up in Brampton, Ontario. He started playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights. In his first season, he scored 66 points and was named the league's top rookie. The next year, he scored 72 points in 54 games. His amazing skill made him the number one pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–2012)
Nash joined the Blue Jackets right away for the 2002–03 season. He scored a goal in his very first NHL game. He was so good that he was nominated for the Calder Trophy, the award for the NHL's best rookie.
In his second season, Nash scored an incredible 41 goals. This tied him for the most goals in the league, and he won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. At just 19 years old, he was the youngest player ever to lead the NHL in goals.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, when the NHL was not playing, Nash played for HC Davos in Switzerland. He helped the team win the Swiss Championship.
When the NHL returned, Nash continued to be a star for Columbus. He was named to the NHL All-Star team several times. On January 17, 2008, he scored an amazing goal against the Phoenix Coyotes that many people called the "goal of the year." He faked out two defenders and the goalie to score in the final minute.
In 2008, Nash was named the captain of the Blue Jackets. The next season, he led the team to the playoffs for the first time in its history. That year, he scored 40 goals and had a career-high 79 points. For his work with charities in Columbus, he also won the NHL Foundation Player Award.
After many successful years, the Blue Jackets team began to struggle. In 2012, after a lot of talk about trades, Nash was traded to the New York Rangers.
New York Rangers (2012–2018)
Nash had a great first season with the Rangers, scoring 21 goals in a shortened season. The next year, he helped the Rangers get all the way to the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. They lost to the Los Angeles Kings, but Nash was a key player.
The 2014–15 season was one of his best ever. Nash scored 42 goals, the third-most in the entire NHL. He also played well in the playoffs, scoring 14 points in 19 games.
Over the next few seasons, Nash dealt with some injuries but remained an important player for the Rangers. He was named an alternate captain in 2016 and scored his 400th career goal that season. In 2017, he played in his 1,000th NHL game.
Boston Bruins and Retirement
In 2018, Nash was traded to the Boston Bruins for their playoff run. He scored his 800th career point as a Bruin. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion (a type of head injury) in March.
Because the symptoms from his concussion did not go away, Nash had to retire from hockey on January 11, 2019. He ended his career after playing 1,060 games over 15 seasons.
International Play
 Rick Nash with a gold medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics. |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Representing Canada |
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| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Winter Games | ||
| Gold | 2010 Vancouver | |
| Gold | 2014 Sochi | |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2007 Russia | |
| Silver | 2005 Austria | |
| Silver | 2008 Canada | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Silver | 2002 Czech Republic | |
Nash was a proud member of Team Canada in many international tournaments.
- World Championships: Nash played in several World Championships. In 2005, he won a silver medal. In 2007, he led Canada to a gold medal and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He won another silver medal in 2008.
- Olympic Games: Nash's biggest international achievements came at the Winter Olympics. He was part of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Four years later, he helped Canada win gold again at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Career Statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–00 | Toronto Marlboros AAA | GTHL | 34 | 61 | 54 | 115 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Milton Merchants | OPJHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | London Knights | OHL | 58 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | London Knights | OHL | 54 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 88 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 21 | ||
| 2002–03 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 74 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 80 | 41 | 16 | 57 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HC Davos | NLA | 44 | 27 | 20 | 47 | 83 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 26 | ||
| 2005–06 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 54 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 80 | 38 | 31 | 69 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 78 | 40 | 39 | 79 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 76 | 33 | 34 | 67 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 75 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 82 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Davos | NLA | 17 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | New York Rangers | NHL | 65 | 26 | 13 | 39 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 42 | 27 | 69 | 36 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | New York Rangers | NHL | 60 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | New York Rangers | NHL | 60 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,060 | 437 | 368 | 805 | 750 | 89 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 32 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Canada Ontario | U17 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 8 | |
| 2002 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Canada | WC | 9 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 8 | |
| 2006 | Canada | OLY | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2007 | Canada | WC | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | |
| 2008 | Canada | WC | 9 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | |
| 2010 | Canada | OLY | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | Canada | WC | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Canada | OLY | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 10 | |||
| Senior totals | 53 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 32 | |||
Awards and Honors
OHL
- OHL All-Rookie Team – 2001
- Emms Family Award (rookie of the year) – 2001
- CHL All-Rookie Team – 2001
- NHL All-Rookie Team – 2003
- Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy – 2004 (shared with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jarome Iginla)
- NHL All-Star Game appearance – 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015
- NHL Foundation Player Award – 2009
- 61 retired by the Columbus Blue Jackets - 2022
- NHL 2K cover athlete - 2009
International
- World Championships gold medal – 2007
- World Championships MVP – 2007
- World Championships All-Star Team – 2007, 2008
- Gold medal – 2010 Winter Olympic Games
- Gold medal – 2014 Winter Olympic Games
