Twenty-one year old Nick Schmaltz is living his childhood dream. A Wisconsin native, born in Madison and brought up in Verona, young Nick rooted for the guys in red sweaters. He even admitted, however bashful, that his childhood hockey hero was none other than now-teammate, Patrick Kane. He models his game after his role model, used to try to execute his moves on bantam ice. Now in the big leagues, Schmaltz's rookie year has had its fair share of bumps and bruises but he's doing better than ever.
Image Credit: Jacqueline Oiga
The thing about Wisconsin is that NHL hockey allegiance is totally up in the air. Sure, you've got Badger Nation, but what comes after that? Yeah, Wisco is home to the Nashville Predators' minor league affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, so maybe you should follow your favorite players up to their big league team. Or maybe you've gone with the team closest to you, which varies as you make your way around the state. Head out west and you're edging on Minnesota Wild territory. North and east are bumping with Michigan, so maybe the Red Wings are sufficient. But head south? It's none other than the Chicago Blackhawks.
Nick Schmaltz and family swore his allegiance southbound. Years later, Nick would be the one skating the ice that once enchanted his television and encapsulated his young dreams.
Nick isn't the only Schmaltz skating professionally. A few years older, big brother Jordan Schmaltz was selected by the Saint Louis Blues, almost sacrilegious for a Blackhawks family. The next few years are interesting because Nick, as any little brother would, placed his adoration for his brother above his childhood home team. Often seen sporting Blues attire in the years that followed, Nick was rooting for Jo, hoping he'd make it big too.
And he would.
First round and five picks higher, actually.
Let's backtrack a little. All the way to 2009, when Schmaltz was fifteen years old, watching the Blackhawks win their very first modern Stanley Cup. Driving two and a half hours away for practice, Schmaltz was playing bantam with the elite Chicago Mission Hockey Club on the AAA Bantam team. In the season prior, his future NHL teammates, Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza, had worn the very same sweater for the very same team. A little bit older than Nick, our other two rookies had moved on to the Mission's U16 team together.
With the Mission, Nick was able to record a grand total of forty-three goals and a whopping one-hundred and nine points in fifty-eight games played over two seasons of Bantam AAA. With the U16 team in the next season, Schmaltz registered nine goals and twenty points in only a mere thirteen games played before he moved on to the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. In the previous years on the bantam team, Hartman and Hinostroza both produced about half as much, with numbers more similar to Nick's brother, Jordan Schmaltz, who played on the same team two season before them.
Today, the Chicago Mission is sponsored by the Chicago Blackhawks, honoring their history with an official sponsorship.
Following the footsteps of both his brother and his future NHL captain, Schmaltz played hockey for the legend-producing hockey program at the University of North Dakota. Boasting Jonathan Toews, TJ Oshie, and Zach Parise, UND is known for dominating the NCAA with beautiful, merciless hockey.
Image Credit: Jacqueline Oiga
Schmaltz, alongside an unusually large force of fellow rookies, put up a meager total of four points in his first twenty-six NHL games, rounding out to about a month and a half playing in the big league. Nick rallied a couple of points, sure, but he had been hesitant to take shots at the net, often passing the puck off to his Stanley Cup Champion linemates in an attempt to play it safe. Stuck in a ten game drought, Schmaltz was sent down to Rockford. It was disappointing, sure, but Schmaltz chose to see it for what it was -- a chance to up his game and gain the confidence that's hard to find playing alongside seasoned veterans like Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane.
Image Credit: Greg Hamil
Playing in the AHL offered Nick a comparatively low-stakes environment to find his game again. As the big shot prospect that ruled the talk of the off-season, geared up for the NHL straight out of the NCAA, the pressure of league could easily be suffocating. When you're playing on lines with the reigning league MVP, your childhood idol, guys with more trophies than you've fingers, the idea of "pass not shoot" doesn't seem too difficult. Rockford helped Schmaltz learn to "shoot not pass" and play smart again. When you're on the ice, it doesn't matter how much hardware you're collected. What matters is the now and making the play. In only twelve games in a Hogs sweater, Schmaltz put up six goals and nine points total with a shot percentage of 18.8%. He top lined and got his game back, just in time to come back to Chicago.
After a mid-January shuffling of forwards, Schmaltz was called back up to the Blackhawks, this time to stay. With five goals and fifteen points, Schmaltz has proved his worth on the team. He even kept up a five-game point streak from February 19 through March 1. With crafty thinking and beautiful plays, Schmaltz has made his home on the top line, at his captain's left wing. While Anisimov was out briefly, Schmaltz was trusted to center the NHL's hottest line; Panarin and Kane. Rockford isn't even an option anymore, not when Schmaltz has carved out his place on the roster.
For many, Nick Schmaltz was one of the most disappointing prospects in the beginning of the season. With all the summer talk, his debut was unfortunately anticlimactic. However, Schmaltz has more than made sure to live up to his prophecy, effectively earning his place on the Blackhawks roster. Nick Schmaltz is all about smart hockey and depth. This team is all about smart hockey and its depth. Maybe it took a while to get all the pieces to fall into the right places, but Schmaltz is most definitely a Chicago Blackhawk. And he's here to stay.
