Former NHL All-Star forward Rick Nash has been named general manager for Canada’s national men’s hockey team at this year’s world championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.
Among the committee members who selected Nash for the tournament, which will be held May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic, were St. Louis Blues president Doug Armstrong and former Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf.
“Rick brings a wealth of international and NHL experience from his playing career and his time as an executive,” Armstrong said in a statement. “We are excited to work with Rick and begin building the staff and roster that will wear the Maple Leaf and help us defend gold this May.”
Nash, 39, won a silver medal as assistant general manager for Canada at the 2022 world championship. He is in his third season as director of player development with the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of his former teams as a player, and previously spent two seasons as the club’s special assistant to the general manager.
As a player, Nash represented Canada at the Olympic Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2014, winning gold in 2010 and 2014. In the NHL, he played in 1,060 games over 15 seasons with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, posting 437 goals and 805 career points.
Canada will open the tournament against Great Britain on May 11.