Nick Holden

As a youth, Holden played bantam and midget-A ice hockey without trying out for a team.[4] He began playing peewee hockey with his sister Tiffany and only took the game seriously when he reached Midget.[2] He later played Midget AAA hockey for the St. Albert Raiders alongside future NHLer Ryan Stanton. In his final season with the team, he played in 35 games and recorded 22 points, the most by a defenseman, which drew attention from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). His play earned him a callup to the Junior A-level Camrose Kodiaks and competed with them in the RBC Cup.[5] During the 2005 AJHL Championship, Holden and the Kodiaks lost 3–2 against the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).[6]

Holden eventually played Junior A-level hockey for the Kodiaks and Sherwood Park Crusaders in the AJHL,[7] but disliked the attention he received.[4] While playing in the AJHL, Holden has said he was more focused on earning a college scholarship than continuing to play hockey.[8] By the age of 18, Holden secured an apprenticeship in plumbing which he planned on continuing if his hockey career did not pan out.[9] As a result, Holden flew under the radar of most scouts until Chilliwack Bruins General manager Darrell May saw him play for the Kodiaks the night before the 2006 Western Hockey League (WHL) Entry Draft.[2]

He eventually joined the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL as an undrafted player in 2006 after graduating from St. Albert's.[3] Standing at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighing 200 pounds (91 kg), Holden garnered attention from Allain Roy of CMG Sports, a sports agent company. Holden said this is when he'd first "ever thought about it....I never figured I needed an agent."[10] After his rookie season, Holden earned a scholarship to the University of the Fraser Valley[11] and was invited to the Edmonton Oilers 2007 NHL training camp on an Amateur Tryout.[12] Upon returning for his second season with the Bruins, Holden was named captain of the team[13] while recording 22 goals and 38 assists for a total of 60 points. On March 28, 2008, Holden signed a three year entry level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, thus concluding his major junior career.[14]

Holden during his tenure with the Springfield Falcons.

Upon signing his contract, Holden joined the Columbus Blue Jackets then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for the remainder of the 2007–08 season.[14] He played one game with the team before beginning his first full professional campaign during the 2008–09 season,[3] where he recorded 22 points in 61 games.[15] Holden attended the Blue Jackets training camp prior to the 2009–10 season, but was reassigned to the AHL on September 28, 2009.[16] He spent the entirety of the season with the Crunch and recorded a then-career high 23 points in 68 games.[15]

Following the 2009–10 season, the Blue Jackets switched their AHL affiliate to the Springfield Falcons and Holden began the season with them. After playing in two games for the Falcons, Holden was called up to the NHL as a replacement for the injured Mike Commodore.[17] He made his NHL debut on October 20, 2010, in a 3–1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks[18] and played in five games before being reassigned to the AHL on November 5, 2010.[19] Holden concluded the season with the Falcons and recorded a then-career high 25 points in 67 games.[15] On June 20, 2011, Holden and the Blue Jackets agreed to a one-year, two-way NHL-American Hockey League Contract for the following season.[20]

With a new contract signed, Holden attended the Blue Jackets training camp prior to the 2011–12 season.[21] On October 1, 2011, Holden was placed on waivers by the Blue Jackets for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL[22] and he thus started the 2011–12 season with the Springfield Falcons.[23] Early in the season, Holden suffered an ankle and shoulder injury which cut his campaign to only 25 games.[24] He returned to the Falcons during the lock-out-shortened 2012–13 season, after attending the Jackets training camp.[25] He was named an alternate captain of the Falcons[26] and appeared in a brief, two-game return to the NHL with the Blue Jackets. After recording 4 goals and 18 assists, Holden was called up to the NHL level on February 4, 2013.[27] He finished the season with nine goals and 39 points in 73 games, and was named the Falcons IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.[28]

Holden during a game against the New Jersey Devils on February 3, 2014

On July 5, 2013, Holden left the Blue Jackets organization and signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche.[29] After partaking and impressing in his first Avalanche training camp, Holden was unexpectedly successful in making the team's opening night roster for the 2013–14 season.[30] Holden sat as a healthy scratch in the first 11 games of the season before making his Avalanche debut as a forward in a 3–2 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on November 1, 2013.[31] At the time of his debut, he was the only player on the roster to not play in a regular-season game during the 2013–14 season.[32] In returning to his natural position of defence, Holden scored his first career NHL goal, a game-winner, against Braden Holtby in a 4–1 victory over the Washington Capitals on November 10, 2013.[33] As the season progressed, Holden solidified his position within the Avalanche blueline, and on January 18, in a game against the Nashville Predators, he set a career high in scoring two goals and three points whilst also recording an all-time team record of nine hits for a defenceman. His three points and nine hits were last matched by Jiří Šlégr of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001.[34] Holden finished the season second amongst Avalanche defencemen with ten goals in only 54 games.[35] He also led all Avalanche defenceman with three goals and four points in their Western Conference Quarter-final series defeat in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Minnesota Wild.[36] Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic spoke highly of Holden's play, saying "He provided offense from our blue line and played with a lot of confidence as the season moved on. We are pleased that he will continue to be a part of our team."[37] Holden was rewarded from his break-out season in signing a three-year contract extension on July 1, 2014.[38]

Holden began the 2014–15 season with the Avalanche and played in his 100th career NHL game.[39] Numerously throughout the season, Holden was called upon to serve at the Avalanche's fourth line forward with teammates Marc-André Cliche and winger Cody McLeod.[40] He also sat as a healthy scratch during the 2014–15 campaign, including four consecutive games in December.[41] In spite of this, Holden remained a mainstay in the Avalanche's lineup and once again made their opening night roster.[42] On February 6, 2016, during a game against the Winnipeg Jets, Holden was hit in the face with a high stick by winger Drew Stafford, earning him a one game suspension.[43] He returned to the lineup for the following game against the Vancouver Canucks with a full cage on his helmet.[44] On June 25, 2016, with two years remaining on his contract, Holden was traded by the Avalanche at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 4th-round pick in 2017.[45]

In the 2016–17 season, Holden enjoyed a successful year with the Rangers in establishing new career highs with 11 goals and 34 points in 80 games.[46] He played on the left side for the Rangers due to their depleted defense, and spent time on both the second and first top pairings with Marc Staal and Ryan McDonagh.[47] He played in nearly all games for the Rangers in the postseason, only sitting as a healthy scratch during Game 3 against Montreal.[46] Fellow defenseman Brady Skjei spoke highly of Holden as a teammate, saying "He’s a steady player and has a good shot from the point, obviously.... He makes the simple play, he’s strong, big, skates well....He’s a nice guy, not a rah-rah guy in the room, but everyone respects him."[48] In spite of this, his future with the Rangers was tenuous and coach Alain Vigneault acknowledged Holden was not guaranteed a spot on the roster in the 2017–18 season.[49] Accurately so, Holden played only 55 games for the Rangers while in the final year of his contract before being traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Rob O'Gara and a 2018 third-round draft pick.[50] Holden, who was familiar with Massachusetts having played for the Springfield Falcons, left his wife and children in New York as he joined the team in Toronto.[51] He appeared in 18 games with the Bruins to close out the season with one goal and five points. In the post-season, Holden was relegated to a healthy scratch throughout the run, appearing in just two games.[52]

With the Bruins unwilling to extend his contract, Holden left to sign with his fifth NHL club, the Vegas Golden Knights, on a two-year $4.4 million contract on July 1, 2018.[53] In his first season with the Golden Knights, Holden was often paired with Shea Theodore or Zach Whitecloud on the blueline.[54] On February 28, 2020, Holden assisted on a goal with Nicolas Roy and Nick Cousins, making them the first trio of "Nicks" to combine on a goal.[55] At the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, Vegas rewarded Holden's play with a two-year $3.4 million contract extension; preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2019–20 season.[56]