Mar. 11—GRAND FORKS — Nick Schmaltz had a solid, not spectacular, freshman campaign at UND.
Schmaltz scored five goals and tallied 26 points in 38 games for a Penrose Cup-champion and NCAA Frozen Four team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThen, he transformed his game.
Schmaltz started stripping pucks from opposing players on a regular basis, defending harder and emerged into a dynamic center who helped bring UND its eighth NCAA national championship in 2016.
"It's so fun to watch him," UND coach Dane Jackson said. "Whenever I think of Nick, I think about the growth he had here in two years. As a first-year player, obviously highly skilled and talented, but he still had so much of the defensive side to learn and also the compete side. The growth of his game from Year 1 to Year 2, where he was, at times, just a pretty good player for us in Year 1, to be arguably one of the best players in college hockey in Year 2 was amazing."
Schmaltz has continued on that path, and it has led to another big payday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSchmaltz, 30, signed an eight-year, $64-million contract with the Utah Mammoth this week.
This contract, when completed, will put him over $100 million in career earnings.
This is the fourth-richest contract signed by a former UND player, only behind Zach Parise's $98-million deal with the Minnesota Wild, Jonathan Toews' $84-million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and Jake Sanderson's $64.4-million deal with the Ottawa Senators.
According to PuckPedia, Schmaltz will make $10 million the first three years, $8 million in Years 4 and 5, and $6 million the final three years.
Schmaltz has 24 goals and 59 points in 64 games for Utah this season. It is his fifth-straight season with at least 58 points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"His stick is so good," Jackson said. "He covers so much ice when he doesn't have the puck. He has so much more depth to his game. You always saw the elite vision, the elite skill, the elite offensive instincts. Now, you watch him and he's a mature, good, two-way player. I see him strip guys and backcheck and knock pucks down and win battles with his smarts and stick. I couldn't be more happy for him."
Schmaltz, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, recently eclipsed 650 career NHL games. He's tallied 166 goals and 482 points.
Jackson said he recalled inconsistencies in Schmaltz's game before he got to UND, going back to his time with Chicago Mission.
"There were games you walked out and he reminds you of Peter Forsberg, he looks so great," Jackson said. "And there are times you come out and you're angry, because your like, gah, this guy didn't give anything today. I think it was just kind of this young age he came."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJackson credited Schmaltz for pushing to round out his game — and for his teammates holding him accountable.
"He really cared about what his teammates and coaches thought of him," Jackson said. "He kind of started to understand how important, for all of us, it was for him to compete hard and play two ways. I think because he's a kid who cared about the program and cared about what his peers thought of him, I think he really started to understand that. And I think a lot of it was his peers challenged him to play at a higher level."
Schmaltz, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2016 Frozen Four semifinal against Denver, has stayed in close touch with UND's program.
He returned to campus this summer to participate in UND's pro camp.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"He's been a great alumnus who's connected with our program," Jackson said. "Having him back this summer for our pro camp was awesome. He's one of those guys who has such a tie to the program and is such a humble, great teammate."
AdvertisementAdvertisement
