Nick Schmaltz

Nick Schmaltz
Born	February 23, 1996 (1996-02-23) Madison, Wisconsin
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft	20th overall, 2014 Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	TBA–present

Nick Schmaltz (born Nicholas Schmaltz on February 23, 1996) is an American ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks organization in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round (20th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing Career

Junior Playing Career

During the 2010-11 season, Nick played for the Chicago Mission AAA Youth Hockey Club (where his future teammates Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza also played for) where he got 19 goals, 35 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 32 games. He also participated in USA Hockey's Select 15 Festival in July of 2011.

In the 2011-12 season, Nick made his debut with the United States Hockey League (USHL), skating in 11 games with the Green Bay Gamblers and playing for the Chicago Mission U16 team. He played with the Gamblers from 2012-2014 where in his first season, he was named to the 2012–13 USHL All- Rookie Team.

Nick also played for the USA U16 team in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games where he scored 1 goal with 3 assists and was +7 with 2 penalty minutes in 11 USHL games. With the Chicago Mission, he scored 23 goals with 23 assists in 25 games.

He was drafted in the 4th round (76th overall) by the Winsdor Spitfires in the 2012 OHL Priority Draft despite making a commitment to join his older brother, Jordan at the University of North Dakota in the 2014-15 season.

In the 2012-13 season, Nick was one of four players to skate in all 64 games for Green Bay and was the Gamblers fourth-leading scorer as a 16-year-old. He scored 18 goals with 34 assists and was +2 with 15 penalty minutes. The defending Clark Cup champions finished second in the East Division and they lost to Youngstown in a first round series. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was -2 in four playoff games.

In the 2013-14 season, Nick led Green Bay in scoring in his second USHL season and skated for the USA at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and 2013 World Junior A Challenge. He scored 18 goals with 45 assists and was minus-3 with 16 penalty minutes in 55 regular season games as the Gamblers finished fourth in the Eastern Division. He scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was minus-1 with 17 penalty minutes in the four-game playoff series with eventual Clark Cup champion Indiana.

Nick led all scorers with five goals in five games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and his eight points were tied for second behind Canada’s Spencer Watson (who had 10). The USA lost to Canada, 4-0, in the gold medal game. The USA finished first at the 2013 U19 World Junior A Challenge and he scored 2 goals with 4 assists, finishing plus-2 with 8 penalty minutes in six games.

Nick participated in the 2013 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in September and he was ranked 19th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings.

College Playing Career

In the 2014-15 season, Nick joined his older brother Jordan at the University of North Dakota where had 26 points in 38 games for the Fighting Sioux as a freshman. He played for the USA U20 team in the 2015 World Juniors along with fellow Blackhawks’ prospects Tyler Motte and Anthony Louis.

He scored 5 goals with 21 assists and was +3 with 12 penalty minutes for North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux finished first in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season, falling 3-1 to St. Cloud State in the NCHC semifinals and 5-1 to Denver in the third-place game.

North Dakota received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, defeating Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State by identical 4-1 scores to capture the NCAA West Regional before falling 5-3 to Boston University in the Frozen Four semifinals.

Nick was +2 with 1 assist and no penalties in five games for the USA at the WJC. The USA finished fifth, losing 3-2 to Russia in the quarterfinals. He was ranked 19th by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on their final list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters leading into the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and he was projected to be a first-round selection.

During his sophomore season with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Nick scored the game-winning goal in the semi-final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament to send North Dakota to the championship game where he got an assist in the game.

After his sophomore season with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Nick ended his collegiate career to turn professional and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on June 19, 2016.

Professional Playing Career

On October 12, 2016, Nick made his NHL debut in the season opener against the St. Louis Blues and on October 15, 2016, he scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Washington Capitals.

On December 4, 2016, the Blackhawks reassigned him to the the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL after recorded one goal and three assist in 26 NHL games. While with the Rockford IceHogs, he tallied six goals and three assists. He was recalled back to the Blackhawks on January 14, 2017.

International Play

Medal record
Competitor for USA
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze	2016 Finland
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
Silver	2013 Břeclav/Piešťany
World Junior A Challenge
Gold	2013 Yarmouth

Playing with the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2013 World Junior A Challenge, Nick was named the tournament's most valuable player as led Team USA to capture the gold medal.

In 2016, he won a bronze medal in the 2016 World Junior Championship, registering 8 points in 7 games with Team USA.

Career Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011–12	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL		11	1	3	4	2		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL		64	18	34	52	15		4	1	1	2	0
2013–14	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL		55	18	45	63	16		4	1	2	3	17
2014–15	U. of North Dakota	NCHC		38	5	21	26	12		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	U. of North Dakota	NCHC		37	11	35	46	6		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		61	6	22	28	6		4	0	0	0	2
2016–17	Rockford IceHogs	AHL		12	6	3	9	2		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				61	6	22	28	6		4	0	0	0	2

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	United States	IH18	Template:Sica		5	5	3	8	2
2015	United States	WJC	5th		5	0	1	1	0
2016	United States	WJC	Template:Bronze03		7	2	6	8	4
Junior totals					17	7	10	17	6

Personal Life

Nick was born to parents Mike and Lisa Schmaltz. He was raised in Verona, Wisconsin.

He has an older brother Jordan Schmaltz who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft who is currently playing for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL and a younger sister Kylie, who plays for the University of Kentucky's women's volleyball team.

His father, Mike and uncles Marc & Monte lettered in football at the University of North Dakota.