Confirmed Signing with Link: [CBJ] Blue Jackets sign D Nick Blankenburg to ELC (1 year, $1.688452M)

[uncleben]

Blankenburg spent the past 4 years with the University of Michigan

Contract is for this year, meaning Blankenburg will be a RFA this offseason


A note about his caphit:
his contract is actually only a $900k contract, but because he's signing a 1 year deal after the season is started, the AAV is calculated uniquely to balance the signing bonus against the cap.

Click to read more...

 

[93LEAFS]

Feels like Columbus is getting too many kids from that school up north.

Either way, congrats to Johnson and curious to see how he'll fair at the NHL level.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Nick Blankenburg at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Nick Blankenburg, 1998-05-12 Washington, MI, USA USA. Most recently in the NHL with Columbus Blue Jackets. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

For those interested, here is his EP.

 

[Youngguns80]

 

[pled]

Feels like Columbus is getting too many kids from that school up north.

how many is too many to you ?

 

[Recipe Unlimited]

how many is too many to you ?

16

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

Thrilled to see Blanks get a shot. Not sure he has the athleticism to stick in the NHL, but I think he has the skill and mentality to be an AHL staple.

Assuming that he and Johnson both start in the AHL, I think it's good investment in player development.

 

[93LEAFS]

how many is too many to you ?

Not sure. Probably a better question for Woody Hayes.

 

[koteka]

Feels like Columbus is getting too many kids from that school up north.

You can’t really write off going after Michigan hockey players — they have that built in advantage that the USNDP is located nearby. I don’t know why some elite Canadians (Power, Johnson) have gone there recently, maybe it is because they know they would be working with other future NHLers like Beniers and Hughes.

Personally I like anything that makes Big Ten hockey better.

 

[93LEAFS]

You can’t really write off going after Michigan hockey players — they have that built in advantage that the USNDP is located nearby. I don’t know why some elite Canadians (Power, Johnson) have gone there recently, maybe it is because they know they would be working with other future NHLers like Beniers and Hughes.

Personally I like anything that makes Big Ten hockey better.

I was mostly joking. I cheer for the Leafs, but I also cheer for the Browns, so I go to Ohio about once a year for a game. Browns have had tons of Michigan players over the years, although people love when they get a kid like Denzel Ward.

As for why they are getting Canadian kids. I can say in the case of Power, Michigan has a strong pipeline into the GTA, and kids often commit there as a backup plan if they don't land with an OHL team they like (Domi and Marner). Ann Arbor is by far the closest major D1 Hockey program to Toronto. You can drive there in 4 hours, making it easy for family to visit on top of being an elite Power 5 school with the facilities to match. Probably a similar incentive to the Fantilli brothers. Pretty much if a top GTA kid wants to go NCAA he ends up at Michigan (Cogliano, Power, Fantilli, on top of a ton of other GTA kids like Hyman). Johnson is from Newfoundland, but has been a hockey vagabond since 14 (move to the GTA for prep school/AAA and then to the BCHL).

 

[koteka]

Ann Arbor is by far the closest major D1 Hockey program to Toronto. You can drive there in 4 hours, making it easy for family to visit on top of being an elite Power 5 school with the facilities to match.

The distance thing makes sense. If I lived in GTA and had an elite hockey playing kid, I guess I might send my kid to Cornell instead which is a similar distance.

 

[93LEAFS]

The distance thing makes sense. If I lived in GTA and had an elite hockey playing kid, I guess I might send my kid to Cornell instead which is a similar distance.

Michigan is really the only truly elite Hockey program within easy driving distance. Like, if your goal is to probably not finish at Uni but play one or two years, U of M makes the most sense. Especially when you are talking of a power 5 football school with the facilities to match. Most of the other top hockey schools are farther, don't have as nice facilities outside of ND, who aren't what they used to be (nice hockey stuff, but nowhere near the OSU's, Michigan, Penn St, Texas, Georgia, etc). Like most of the very high-end programs for producing NHLers are pretty far west like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Denver, and NoDak, or in the New England area (BU, BC, Harvard).

Either way congrats to the kid. Just find it a bit funny how the team based in Columbus just signed UM's captain, their top pick last year played for them and their best player is a Michigan guy.

 

[Youngguns80]

 

[majormajor]

@Viqsi apparently he does have a thread.

Great debut for Nick Blankenburg. Not just passable, he was outstanding.