Kuraly of Blue Jackets discusses Stadium Series on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

Sean Kuraly knows how fortunate he is and the Columbus Blue Jackets forward was not shy about sharing why when he joined this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP.

Kuraly experienced playing an NHL outdoor game at Notre Dame Stadium in the 2019 NHL Winter Classic, when he was with the Boston Bruins. He scored the game-winning goal in Boston's 4-2 win.

On Saturday, Kuraly will play at another iconic college football venue, Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University, in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA).

Kuraly spoke to co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke about playing at Notre Dame and the chance to play at Ohio State, where he saw many college football games as a Buckeyes fan growing up in Dublin, Ohio.

He talked about the importance of the game to the fans in Columbus, how it's an opportunity for them to showcase their passion for the game and the Blue Jackets, who will be playing in their first NHL outdoor game.

Kuraly also talked about the importance of the game to the Blue Jackets and Red Wings. Detroit holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Columbus.

"Couldn't have drawn it up much better," Kuraly said.

Finally, Kuraly appeared to get emotional discussing the lasting impact Johnny Gaudreau has had on the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau, who played the previous two seasons for Columbus, and his brother Matthew were killed while riding bicycles near their home in Salem County, New Jersey on Aug. 29.

"We're pretty darn lucky to be doing what we're doing," Kuraly said.

Prior to the interview with Kuraly, Rosen and Roarke talked about Alex Ovechkin's chase for Wayne Gretzky's goal record. After recording a hat trick on Sunday, Ovechkin scored again on Tuesday, moving his total to 883 goals, which is 12 away from breaking Gretzky's record of 894.

They also discussed the lasting impact of the 4 Nations Face-Off and if the United States, despite losing to Canada in overtime of the final, should be considered the favorite going into the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline and thoughts on what teams such as the Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks and more could do was also a big part of the discussion between the co-hosts.

The "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.