Rick Nash will lead Canada at the men’s world hockey championship.
The former NHLer and two-time Olympic gold medallist on Tuesday was named general manager by Hockey Canada for the May 10-26 tournament in the Czech Republic.
The 39-year-old from Brampton, Ont., was assistant GM when the Canadians won silver at the 2022 tournament. Nash, who retired as a player in 2019, is in his third season as director of player development with the Columbus Blue Jackets following two campaigns as special assistant to the GM.
Nash got the nod from St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, former Anaheim Ducks captain and player relations adviser Ryan Getzlaf, and Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond after the trio was tabbed by the national program last week to pick the country’s team of NHLers for the 2026 Olympics.
“He brings a wealth of international and NHL experience from his playing career and his time as an executive,” Armstrong said of Nash in a statement.
Hockey Canada is looking to use the 2024 and 2025 worlds, along with next year’s NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, to gather as much information as possible on players before selecting the roster for the Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Nash won gold for Canada as a player at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, and suited up four times at the worlds, topping the podium once and finishing second twice.
He also won silver at the 2002 world juniors.
Selected first overall by the Columbus at the 2002 NHL draft, Nash had 437 goals and 368 points for 805 career points in 1,060 games across 15 seasons with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.