Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen has no idea what to do with Nick Blankenburg.
Blankenburg, a 5-foot-9, 177-pound defenseman, has played only 19 NHL games, but he's already built a reputation for his intense, no-holds-barred approach to every shift. That's exactly what Larsen loves about Blankenburg, but it's also his biggest concern.
Blankenburg missed 27 games this season after suffering a broken ankle and high ankle sprain while blocking a shot against the Flyers on Nov. 10 . He finished the game, and even scored an empty-net goal while playing on the broken ankle, but when the reality of the injury set in, he missed over two months.
And when Blankenburg returned against the Hurricanes on Jan. 12 , he left the game late in the third period after blocking another shot with his lower leg. Two nights later, Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider fell on one of Blankenburg's ankles. Blankenburg was fine after both incidents, and neither was preventable, but they're emblematic of Larsen's dilemma: How does he keep Blankenburg healthy and in the lineup without taking away the intensity that makes him an effective player?
"It's such a hard thing to coach out of him, and I don't really want to, if that makes sense, but I want him to play every game," Larsen said. "He's not a big guy, but he plays like he's 6-5. He plays like he's (Erik) Gudbranson's size. That's how he plays. But he's assertive, on his toes. One of his best gifts is his ability to take in information on the ice. He does. He reads the play really well. He pops some guys that don't think he's coming, and he's there."
When he made his debut in April , Blankenburg's attitude was on display from the beginning. On just the second shift of his career, he laid a hit on Montreal's Jake Evans , listed at 6 feet and 186 pounds — at minimum, 3 inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than Blankenburg. He blocked five shots in that game, and recorded four hits and two blocked shots in his next game.
In the 19 games he's played, Blankenburg has 38 hits and 32 blocked shots. He is one of the shortest defensemen in the NHL but has never let his size hold him back from playing with a physical edge. Larsen doesn't want to take that away, but he also doesn't want Blankenburg to hurt himself.
"I'm not sure exactly how to coach that, where I can get him to be maybe a little bit more safe, (if that's) the word? I don't know," Larsen said. " Safe is death , too. You've heard that I don't know how many times. I don't know. I don't know. I love how he plays. I love that he attacks the game all over. We're going to have to find that line somewhere, because I want him in the lineup."
As he worked his way back from the ankle injury, Blankenburg acknowledged needing to find a better balance. But in the same breath, Blankenburg, who has fought for every minute of ice time since he began his college hockey career at Michigan as a walk-on, admitted that it goes against how he's wired.
"We'll see," Blankenburg said. "I think I'll be able to do it. I kind of have a good understanding of where I need to be or what I can kind of work on. To be able to put myself in better positions, to not hold onto the puck a little longer and take a hit, or maybe it's me not hitting somebody late in a shift."
Picking his spots doesn't mean Blankenburg won't go for a big hit when it's warranted. He sent Anaheim forward Isac Lundestrom into the Blue Jackets' bench on Thursday, and then scored a goal 21 seconds later.
"He's a competitive kid," Larsen said. "He hammers that guy right along the bench there and scores a goal. He's a tenacious player. He requires a lot of energy, the way he plays."
And to have that energy at a consistent level every game, Blankenburg will likely have to pull back in some situations so he doesn't over-extend himself on any one night. That is, if his nature will allow it, and if Larsen can find the right line.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg trying to play physical, stay healthy
