Jaden Schwartz

Jaden Schwartz (born on June 25, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Jaden was selected 14th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Minor Hockey Career
Jaden played minor hockey at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. As a bantam, he helped Notre Dame to win the Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament in 2006 and 2007.

In 2007, Jaden also played at the midget level, helping the Hounds to a victory at the 2007 Mac's AAA midget hockey tournament. He and Notre Dame played at the Mac's Tournament again in 2008. Jaden was named the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League Top Forward for the 2007–08 season, after leading the league in scoring.

While playing Midget AAA at the school, Jaden scored 39 goals and added 72 assists in 44 games to break team scoring records previously held by Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards.

Junior Hockey Career
Jaden began his hockey career playing junior ice hockey for his hometown Notre Dame Hounds in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. During the 2008–09 season with the Hounds, he finished fifth in league scoring with 34 goals and 42 assists in 46 games.

At the end of the season, Jaden was named the SJHL's Rookie of the Year. He transferred to the Tri-City Storm of the American Tier I Jr. A United States Hockey League. He captured the 2009–10 USHL scoring title with 83 points in 60 games.

Jaden was also named to the league's First All-Star Team and was awarded Top Offensive Player honours.

College Hockey Career
On January 22, 2008, Jade committed to play NCAA Division I college ice hockey at Colorado College of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for the 2010–11 season. He helped Colorado College to an NCAA Tournament appearance where the team was seeded in the West regional held at the Scottrade Center, in St. Louis.

In the first round, Jaden recorded two goals and two assists to help Colorado College defeat the reigning NCAA champion and #1-seeded Boston College 8-4. He also assisted on the lone goal, scored by Rylan Schwartz, in the second round game against Michigan.

Jaden finished his freshman season at Colorado College with 17 goals and 30 assist for 47 points in 30 games. His 47 points was first on the team and he recorded four game-winning goals and eight powerplay goals.

During his sophomore season at Colorado College, Jaden recorded 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points in only 30 games, missing six due to the World Junior Tournament. He led the Tigers in points and assists for the season; four of his 15 goals were recorded as game-winning goals and five of his goals came on the power play.

On March 10, 2012, Colorado College lost 3-4 in overtime to Michigan Tech in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

On March 12, 2012, Jaden decided to forego his final two years of NCAA eligibility and signed a three-year entry level contract with the St. Louis Blues.

NHL Career
On March 12, 2012, the St. Louis Blues signed Jaden to an entry-level contract and added him to their NHL roster.

After travelling and practicing with the team for a week, Jaden was given his first opportunity for NHL play after winger Andy McDonald received a shoulder injury.

On March 17, 2012, Jaden made his NHL debut in Tampa Bay, skating on the second line with Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Berglund.

During the game, Jaden scored his first NHL goal (a game-winning goal) from his first NHL shot on the powerplay at the 19:24 mark of the first period when he intercepted a rebound in front of the net and beat the Lightning's veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson.

International Play
Jaden represents Canada internationally. His first experience with Hockey Canada came while representing Team West at the World Junior A Challenge in 2008, capturing a silver medal and the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2009, with a fourth place finish.

Jaden helped Canada capture a gold medal at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He scored a goal and added an assist in the gold medal game. He was selected to represent Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

In his second game of the tournament, against the Czech Republic, Jaden suffered a fractured ankle and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament. He was selected the next year to Team Canada for the 2012 World Junior Championships in Edmonton & Calgary and named team captain.

Playing Russia in the semifinal, Jaden recorded a goal and five shots to be named Canada's player of the game in a 6–5 losing effort. He finished the tournament with five points (two goals and three assists) over six games, as Canada won the bronze medal over Finland.

Personal Life
Jaden was born in Melfort, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan. His parents are Rick and Carol Schwartz. He has an older brother named Rylan who played hockey at Colorado College and an older sister named Mandi.

Mandi played hockey with the Yale Bulldogs women's ice hockey team until December of 2008 when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Despite attempts to find a donor for Mandi and raising awareness of bone marrow & stem cell transplants, Mandi succumbed to her illness in April of 2011 after a third relapse of the cancer.