Cody Blanshan

2005-06 Update: The Islanders could not reach terms with Cody Blanshan before the July 2005 deadline for drafting junior 2003 picks. He re-entered the 2005 draft but was not re-selected. He is no longer Islander property.

Blanshan signed an AHL contract with the Norfolk Admirals, the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate, in September. He attended the Blackhawks training camp. He was then sent back down to Norfolk and from there was sent down to the Admirals ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Grrrowl.

Summer Camp Opens on the Island
June 7, 2005 - Soundtigers.com

The skates were sharpened and the sticks taped at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset, New York as the Sound Tigers opened the first leg of their 2005 Summer Mini Camp. Among those in attendance were Bruno Gervais, Matt Koalska, Chris Campoli and Steve Regier, as well as 2003 second-rounder Jeremy Colliton, 2003 eighth-rounder Cody Blanshan and 2004 eighth-rounder Jason Pitton.

BLANSHAN A PHYSICAL PRESENCE
2003 Eighth-Rounder Tough in Both Ends
NYI.com - November 10, 2004

(November 10) When the Islanders' brass prepared for the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, they knew they wanted to go after tough young talent. The final piece of the defensive puzzle to be solved that weekend was the selection of physical force Cody Blanshan.  Currently skating for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL, the 20-year old Eagan, MN native not only proves to opponents he is a force to be reckoned with physically, he also makes his mark in the +/- category, as he has been on the positive side more often than not.

Blanshan made a brief stop in the CCHA playing for the University of Nebraska-Omaha during the 2002-03 campaign.  While covering the blue line for the Mavericks, Blanshan tallied 5 assists in 38 games and led the club with 103 PIM.  He also placed third overall on the team with a +2 rating. He currently leads his Medicine Hat squad with 43 PIM, and is tied for third on the team with an impressive +10 rating after just 16 games.

About the 6'2, 215-pound Blanshan, Islanders' scout Brian Hunter describes him as "Very physical. He is a fearless-type player defensive defenseman. He's always been very tough coming through the ranks."

Selected in the 8th round, Blanshan brings "untapped potential" the scouts say.  His youth and his tough competitive nature have Islanders management following his development in Medicine Hat.  As a player at Nebraska-Omaha, Blanshan was one of only nine CCHA players worthy of being ranked by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau heading into the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Career highlights for Blanshan include helping his Medicine Hat team win the 2003-04 Memorial Cup as Canadian Hockey League Champions and skating in the USHL All-Star game while a member of the Sioux Falls Stampede in 2001-02.  In 20 games in pursuit of the Memorial Cup with Medicine Hat, Blanshan notched 5 points (2-3) in 20 post-season games.

2004-05 Update:

Cody Blanshan has improved in his second season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. Even though he was a late round pick of the Islanders back in 2003, there is always a need for a big stay at home d-man. Blanshan has played on a good team the last two seasons. He helped the Tigers win the WHL Championship in 2003-04. He more than doubled his offensive output in 2004-05 with 27 points, including 6 goals(4 of which came on the powerplay)....It will be interesting to see what happens with Blanshan when and if the NHL returns. It would be nice to see him get signed by the Islanders and spend some time in the AHL with Bridgeport where the Isles have sent a few promising young defensemen over the last year. Blanshan could possibly turn into a Dennis Vaske type blueliner. 

2003-04 Update:

Blanshan has been developing nicely in his first year with Medicine Hat after moving over from college hockey to the rough and tough Western Hockey League. His steady defensive play has helped the Tigers reach the WHL finals against the Everett Silvertips. Along the way he has gone 2-2-4 with 26 PIM's in 18 playoff games and is a +10. During the regular season he finished a +25. A WHL championship would put Blanshan and the Tigers into the Memorial Cup Tournament.
Update: Blanshan finished 2-3-5 in 20 GP helping Medicine Hat to the WHL Championship.

Blanshan's Bio: courtesy TigersHockey.com

One of the Tiger's biggest off-season moves was bringing in defensemen Cody Blanshan of Eagan, Minnesota. Last season, he played with the University of Nebraska–Omaha of the NCAA. In June 2003, he was drafted by the New York Islanders…Cody says he plays like Donald Brashear of the Flyers…He has high expectations for this year, he wants to play solid defense and win a championship…Some career highlights for Blanshan include, playing in the Minnesota State High School hockey tournament as well as playing in the USHL All-Star game…Cody enjoys baseball and fishing in his spare time.

Major Development, 6/27/03 

Hockey Notes: Two UNO players will leave early for pro career
posted on Omaha.com, AP

University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey players Cody Blanshan and Aaron Smith have announced they'll forfeit their remaining eligibility and turn professional, Coach Mike Kemp said Thursday. 

The New York Islanders drafted Blanshan in the eighth round of the National Hockey League draft last weekend. Blanshan, a defenseman from Eagan, Minn., had five assists and led UNO with 105 penalty minutes in his freshman season.

Smith, a forward from Madison, Wis., had 24 goals and 47 points in 90 games the last three years.

During NHL draft, Blanshan nervously waited for phone call

Posted: 6/27/03

by Todd Abeln
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS/Minnesota

Last weekend wasn’t the easiest for Eagan’s Cody Blanshan.

That’s because it was the weekend of the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft.

Blanshan was projected to get drafted but nobody knew when.

Not wanting to think about the draft, Blanshan headed north to get away from it all.

It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that New York Islanders selected Blanshan and all the nerves went away.

“It was unbelievable,” Blanshan said. “Talking to my family adviser and a lot of hockey scouts, I was pretty sure I was going to get drafted, I just didn’t know when. But when it started to get down there in the eighth round, I started to get nervous.”

It wasn’t until the eighth round that the wait was over.

The New York Islanders selected Blanshan with the 238th overall pick.

Blanshan was one of only 45 American-born players to be drafted.

Blanshan didn’t watch the draft or keep tabs on the draft all weekend. He didn’t even know that he was drafted until his father called and told him.
“If I would’ve watched it, I would’ve freaked myself out,” he said.

Blanshan, a Eastview graduate, played this season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

As a freshman, Blanshan led the Mavericks in penalty minutes and was the only defenseman to finish the season with a plus rating.

But things weren’t always rosy for Blanshan in Omaha. He enjoyed playing college hockey and Omaha. He just didn’t get along with the head coach and has decided to take his talents elsewhere this winter.

“Me and the coaches kind of clashed a little bit. I got along with him for the most part, but things just don’t work out sometimes and it wasn’t the right place for me to be, I felt,” Blanshan said. “I’m better off playing at a different school.”

Deciding what to do next year has been difficult for Blanshan.

“I don’t know what I’m doing yet. I might go up to Canada and play in the Western Hockey League or may go back to the USHL (United States Hockey League) again,” he said.

Blanshan said that his decision will be made by the end of the week.

“Everyone wants a decision as soon as possible, but I can’t make up my mind yet,” Blanshan said.

Because of NCAA rules, Blanshan has to sit out a year of college hockey if he transfers to a new school. As a result, he is deferring that decision at this time.

Besides not getting along with the coach at Omaha, Blanshan said everything else was great.

“I absolutely loved it. There was nothing I didn’t like about it. College hockey was fun, college life was fun. It was a great experience,” Blanshan said.

As far as his game goes, Blanshan describes himself as a defensive-defenseman. He stays back on the blue line and doesn’t score a lot.

One thing he does do a lot is sit in the penalty box.

Last year for Omaha, he led the team in penalties and he did the same for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League.

“I make a good first outlet pass on the breakout and I like to consider myself a pretty tough guy,” he said.

This summer Blanshan is living at home with his mom and dad and working on getting stronger, faster and quicker.

He said he skates once or twice a week.

Blanshan played only one year of junior hockey, as he left the Eastview hockey program after his junior year to play for Sioux Falls.

From there, Omaha offered him a scholarship and he jumped at the chance to play college hockey.

As for the draft, he said he hasn’t talked to anybody from the New York Islanders organization yet but he figures they will contact him sometime in the next few days.

He said he expects the Islanders will want him to go back to juniors or college hockey for a couple of years before they think about signing him and putting him into their system.

- The Islanders received this pick as compensation for losing group III free agent Kip Miller last summer to the Washington Capitals.

Omaha Bio:

Prior to UNO:
Passed up his senior year of high school hockey to play for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL where he registered three goals and 13 assists in 2001-2002 while posting a team-high 150 penalty minutes...His solid defensive play earned him a spot on the 2002 USHL Prospects all-star team...Graduated in June of 2002 from Eastview High School in Apple Valley, MN.

Personal:
The son of Alan and Erin Blanshan...Was a Minnesota all-state hockey selection during his junior year at Eastview High School...Also played football, baseball, golf and soccer in high school...Born June 14, 1984.

Coach Kemp on Blanshan:
“He's a young player with untapped potential. Cody is a physical force that we expect to come in and be a real tough competitor in our lineup this year as a freshman."

BLANSHAN TO NEBRASKA-OMAHA

(06/18/2002) - The United States Hockey League announced today that Sioux Falls Stampede defenseman Cody Blanshan (Eagan, Minn.) has committed to attend and play hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha beginning this fall.

Blanshan registered three goals and 13 assists in 2001-02 while posting a team-high 150 penalty minutes. His solid defensive play earned him a spot on the 2002 USHL Prospects / All-Star team.

"I was extremely pleased with Cody's development during the past season," said Stampede head coach Tony Gasparini. "I'm proud of his accomplishments with the Stampede and look forward to following his college career."

Blanshan was the 11th member of the Stampede to commit to an NCAA Division-I program this season. His commitment increases the league's total to 101.

islesinfo.com: Blanshan led the Omaha Mavericks with 103 PIM's as a freshman in 2002-03. Was born in St. Paul but his hometown is Eagan, Minnesota.