Rick Nash Named Team Canada GM For IIHF World Championships

Nash, who hails from Brampton, Ont., previously served as an assistant GM when Canada won silver at the 2022 tournament. Since retiring as a player in 2019, he has been working as the director of player development with the Columbus Blue Jackets for three seasons after two campaigns as a special assistant to the GM.

The decision to appoint Nash was made by a panel consisting of St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, former Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, and Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond. This trio was tasked with selecting the country's team of NHL players for the 2026 Olympics.

According to Armstrong, Nash's extensive international and NHL experience made him the ideal candidate for the role.

Hockey Canada aims to gather valuable information on players through the 2024 and 2025 world championships, as well as next year's NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, to aid in selecting the roster for the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

Nash boasts an impressive hockey resume, having secured gold medals for Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, as well as a podium-topping finish once and two second-place finishes at the world championships. He also won silver at the 2002 world juniors.

Drafted first overall by Columbus in the 2002 NHL draft, Nash had an illustrious career spanning 15 seasons with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins, amassing 805 career points with 437 goals and 368 assists in 1,060 games.