Blue Jackets’ legend Rick Nash is on the fast track in front office circles. He hopes to one day become a general manager in the National Hockey League. So far, he’s well on his way.
Nash is currently in his second season as the Blue Jackets’ Director of Hockey Operations. He’s held that title since being promoted by GM Don Waddell in September 2024.
Before that, Nash spent time until then GM Jarmo Kekalainen learning about the ins and outs of the front office. In 2019, he was named special assistant to the GM. Then in 2021, he was promoted to the Director of Player Development.
Nash has excelled in every role he’s had to this point in the front office. A large part of his role now is to scout especially in the college ranks both Blue Jackets’ prospects and potential free agents to be. When he’s not watching a game at Nationwide Arena, chances are he’s on a scouting trip.
Nash talked with the Hockey Writers this week about a variety of topics. Our 10-minute conversation covered his thoughts on being able to learn under Waddell, some thoughts on various prospects in the organization and more.
As usual with our Q&A’s, it was cleaned up for clarity and conversation.
Rick Nash Q&A
THW: Now in your second season working with Don Waddell. What has it been like working for him? What impresses you the most about him?
Nash: “It’s been awesome to see him work not only the business side and how he runs the day-to-day operations. To see him on the hockey side too is incredible. You look at his career coming up through Detroit and Atlanta and Carolina. He’s just a wealth of knowledge. I find myself lucky to get the chance to learn and get to shadow him.”
THW: What do you feel like has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned so far from him?
Nash: “I think I’m pretty lucky to watch and learn the day-to-day operations. Everything from you’re running a cap system of a team, but you’re also running the budget of the organization. And that’s been fun to watch and fun to learn from Don. And then his experience at whether it’s talking to players, whether it’s talking to agents, handling scouts. I think that’s been the biggest eye-opener for me is just to see how he puts everything together under the president of hockey ops.”
Identifying Talent
THW: As a department, what helped you identify Mason Marchment as a trade target?
Nash: “First of all, you got to give credit to Don for pulling the trigger on that deal and going after a guy that he talked about that he watched for a couple years and wanted him on his team. And then our pro scouts have done a good job in seeing some projection there where a player can come in and help. For me personally, I played against him and know what kind of player he is on the ice and watched him more than enough that you know what he can bring when he’s at his best. I think he showed that over the first eight or nine games.”
THW: Your team was able to sign Egor Zamula as well. What factors did you see that made you feel like he would be a good fit?
Nash: “I think in talking to our group and Don and the coaching staff we felt like our defense just needed some depth, right? We knew injuries were going to happen as the season goes on and he’s another guy that our pro scouts picked as a player with some potential. Don saw an opening and had belief in him. So I think he’s going to be an interesting player to watch and see how he adapts to our system and our game.”
THW: We just saw Zach Aston-Reese and Brendan Gaunce placed on waivers. How involved are you in the process when tough roster decisions have to be made?
Nash: “I’m lucky Don keeps me in the loop on a lot of it. A lot of the times I’m on the road checking out prospects and doing some of my other pro scouting duties. Don really does keep me up to date and he does ask me my opinion on those things. But at the end of the day, it’s Don making these calls and as the team gets healthy, that’s just the the reality of it is that you’re gonna make hard decisions for good NHL players.”
Nash on Prospects
THW: Let’s get into some prospects. What have you seen from Cayden Lindstrom this season? How satisfied have you been with his progress despite what the numbers might say?
Nash: “I think if you just look at the numbers it’s not the full picture, right? You can look at the stats and see his goals, assists, and points and it’s really not the full picture of how far Cayden has come to being a consistent player on the ice. We knew what we were getting into. We had a guy that hasn’t played games in a year and a half and he’s finally getting back to playing hockey and being a consistent practice player as well where it’s not just getting suited up for games. As Cayden grows, watching him here at Ohio State and I’ve seen him a bunch of times live this year, the encouraging thing for me is that he’s getting better and better each weekend.”
THW: What has impressed you about Jackson Smith so far?
Nash: “His skating. No question for me. He almost floats on the ice and he’s got a great stride. He’s got great edges. He’s been very impressive in just the minutes that he eats too. He eats a lot of minutes. We’ve been very happy with Jackson’s development.”
THW: William Whitelaw is an interesting prospect. He’s played at different schools and has overcome a lot. How far has he come development wise to you?
Nash: “William’s come a long ways from Youngstown. I remember watching him there and then watching him at Wisconsin a ton and then going to Ann Arbor last year a ton. Seen him a handful of times this year live and he’s really taking his game to the next level. You can see his compete, his leadership. He’s buying into what they got going on at Western Michigan. He’s a kid that has all the skill. He’s got a great shot. He’s a prospect that you talk about just going through a development plan and taking time to adjust to the college game. He’s been great.”
THW: There is some talk that Sergei Ivanov might come to North America next season. How much have you been able to see him and Pyotr Andreyanov? What excites you about them?
Nash: “We’re not sure exactly what’s going to happen as we go through it. Brad Thiessen, our goalie coach in Cleveland, helps me a lot with our development and has been working with both of those guys. It’s exciting to see what happens over this next year or so. (Ivanov’s) a guy that has been impressive in the KHL and made the All-Star game which we were excited about.”
“As for (Andreyanov) watching video on him, he just seems to have that confidence and the athletic ability that we’re all excited about. With the goalies, I go a lot off what Brad tells us and he’s excited about both those guys.”
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THW: Couple of prospects have overcome significant injuries. What have you seen from Corson Ceulemans and Luca Marrelli since they returned?
Nash: “Yeah, Corson was having a great start to the season last year. He got that devastating injury. It’s tough. You miss so many games and then you try to find your groove back. With Corson, I’ve followed him since his early days at Wisconsin. When we talk about those different development paths, it’s just a different development path with Corson. And he’s taken his time, but he’s really found his defensive game. At Wisconsin it was a lot of run and gun and finding him worrying so much about offense. Now he’s really set into that 200-foot defenseman.”
“And with Luca Marrelli, unfortunately, same type thing with development camp and training camp going through a bit of an injury. Now he’s finally back to playing and just in the short amount of viewings that I’ve had of him this year, he seems like he’s fitting right in for a guy that’s missed a lot of time. Watching him in Oshawa, I saw a really good offensive minded hockey sense D that still has that grit and that edge in the D zone. We’re excited about both of them.”
THW: Last one. Which prospect or prospects might not be getting the attention they deserve but are going out of their way to really impress you?
Nash: ” I would say we have a right shot defenseman at St. Cloud State, Tanner Henricks who is a big 6-foot-4 D who actually got hurt too, unfortunately, and then missed a lot of games. But he’s on his way back eventually, hopefully in the next little bit. He’s the kind of a player that has all the tools in the basket with a great shot. We’re very excited to see his college game make some growth.”
“I think Jack Williams as well. Who’s, who’s in Cleveland. Right shot center that we got from Northeastern last year. We were excited to get him. I know he had a lot of different opportunities and I think he’s showing to jump right into a pro game where he’s a player that the coaches just love to throw over the bench because they trust him so much.”
