Nick Blankenburg is playing in his first full season as a pro.
The 24-year-old defenseman has played in just 15 games this season due to injuries but is still on pace to play 46 games, the most he's played in a single season since 2017-18, per eliteprospects.com.
Q: Is there any worry about hitting a wall at some point?
Blankenburg: "No. I'm not really worried about that. I think [my] first full season as a pro is a learning experience and I mean, injuries are out of your control and something you just try not to focus on too much. So just trying to learn throughout the process, and it's part of the game so it's gonna be something that I have to understand and something I'll have to go through. So definitely [my] first year of pro will be a big learning experience for me and a lot of growth too."
#CBJ Blankenburg (3) goal pic.twitter.com/W9db3Lg8TR
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 20, 2023
Q: Are there three things that you could go back in time to last year and tell your past self that could have helped you this season?
Blankenburg: "I just think like taking things and just enjoying each day and not really putting too much pressure on yourself. Like in college, you're kind of a student-athlete and you have two different jobs and it's mixed together and here your job is to play hockey. Just enjoy it and realize that I wouldn't want to be doing anything else in the world and obviously there's a lot of pressure and but I think that's a good thing. And I think it's a lot of opportunity for growth. So I think that's the biggest one for me right now is just taking it in each day and even like today just enjoying a practice with the guys who haven't been together for a week and just the little things. So I wouldn't say there's one thing off the top of my head but I'd say that's one of them for sure."
Q: How nice is it to be back on the ice after not playing since Jan. 25?
Blankenburg: "Yeah, I mean, it's fun. You guys have seen it's been a long year and obviously unfortunate due to injuries and whatnot. But like I said, it's out of my control. So at this point, I think [with] 31 games left [I will] just try and do what I can to obviously stay healthy and take care of my body off the ice doing the right things and just letting go of the things that I can't control if that's an injury or whatever it could be so but yeah, it's been a blast so far and learning experience with a lot of growth."
Q: Can you speak to the focus on the off-ice work now that you don't have to go to class and have more time to dedicate to being a pro?
Blankenburg: "I think just for me personally at Michigan, they did a great job with teaching us through our nutritionists that we had and I'm just trying to translate that [in] my time here. I have a lot more time so [I'm] just trying to do the right things whether that's eating or if that's going to bed at the right time. Definitely a lot of stretching [and] a lot of ice baths with the more demanding schedule at the rink. So like I said, it's been a learning experience and it's been a process but I think there's a lot of room for growth and I've seen that ever since training camp and I think to go through growth you got to go through difficult times so [I'm] definitely I guess thankful for that in its own special way."
#CBJ Blankenburg (2) goal pic.twitter.com/zFVdqg636Z
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 11, 2022
