ALUMNI UPDATE: TYSON NASH

By Colton Davies – Follow Colton on X

Tyson Nash is one of the legendary Kamloops Blazers players who had the opportunity to hoist not one, but three Memorial Cups. Nash etched his name into Blazers history, and even has his name on a banner raised high at the Sandman Centre.

I caught up with Nash and we reminisced about his time in Kamloops, winning the Memorial Cups, the brotherhood and the culture of Blazer hockey.
Nash was listed at just 13 years old by the Blazers. Back in the early ’90s, the WHL Bantam Draft did not exist yet. “I think I got listed when I was 13,” Nash recalled. “You really didn’t know a ton of what was going on. I think I knew where Kamloops was, but I was just a kid. By the time I was 14, I started learning a little bit more.”

He remembers his first taste of the city: attending a Blazers game at the old Memorial Arena. That moment left an impression. “I remember watching Mike Modano of the Prince Albert Raiders. That was an eye-opener, but I fell in love with everything.”

Nash’s rookie season in 1991/92 dropped him straight into a powerhouse lineup that included Scott Niedermayer and Darryl Sydor. “Darryl had just been drafted by the L.A. Kings. He came home halfway through the season. You couldn’t ask for two better guys to live with and learn from,” Nash said. “The dedication they had was incredible.”.

But Nash’s true “welcome to the WHL” moment came at 15. “I walked onto the bench, and one of our enforcers was beating the snot out of someone on Regina. And I’m a 15-year-old kid, it was intimidating.” Nash said.

By 1993/1994, Nash was no longer just a wide-eyed teenager and had one Memorial Cup on his resume. The Blazers retooled quickly after missing the playoffs in 1993, and suddenly, the team was back on top. “We were a bunch of nobodies at that point, but after that Memorial Cup win, we had eight or nine guys drafted. That’s when I really felt like, okay, this is my team,” Nash recalled.”I’d better produce. I’d better perform. We all pushed each other with that internal competition.” Nash helped the Blazers go all the way; he tallied 58 points in 65 games and captured his second Memorial Cup as the Blazers won in Laval, Quebec.

Then came the legendary team that is still widely talked about as one of the best junior hockey teams ever assembled. The team boasted names like Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Darcy Tucker, and Hnat Domenichelli to name a fee. “The man we called ‘Gaz’, he (Domenichelli) was awesome. Super talented. Played some in the NHL, too.” Nash recalled. “That whole group was special. I think 17 or 18 guys off that team ended up playing pro hockey. We were so good we could’ve beaten some American Hockey League teams.”

It was a hockey culture built from the ground up. “At 16, you’re a sponge. The veterans pass it down. By the time we were 18 and 19, we became the leaders. It was infectious. That’s what kept the Blazer message alive.”

The pinnacle came in 1995, when Kamloops won the Memorial Cup on home ice. “We knew we had great fans, but it was different. My mom, my grandparents, my dad, my brother, my best friends — they were all there,” Nash said. “It was the payoff for all the car rides and sacrifices. You just didn’t want it to end.”

When it comes to the legendary lineups, some players get lost in the mix, but not on this team. “You never forget the foot soldiers — guys like Jason Strudwick, Bob Westerby, Mike Josephson. Chris Murray, who fought every night, got us juiced up on the bench,” Nash said. “We had a line with Ryan Huska at centre,

Shane Doan on the right, and me on the left. We had a role to do, and we got rewarded. Those guys don’t get enough credit.”

Today, Nash looks back on those years with a mix of pride and humility.

“That banner… I could cry, literally. People send me pictures of it on Instagram or Twitter and say, ‘This is so cool.’ I have to pinch myself, because in a lot of ways I don’t feel like I belong with those names. But it shaped us. It shaped who we are.”
For Tyson Nash, being part of the Kamloops Blazers dynasty of the 1990s wasn’t just about championships. It was about culture, brotherhood, and leaving a legacy that still echoes in Kamloops to this day.