Though the National Hockey League has yet to get a glimpse of the highly touted Justin Schultz on NHL ice, the 22 year old native of Kelowna, B.C. is doing nothing short of electrifying the American Hockey League with a brilliant start for the Oklahoma City Barons.
The offensive defenseman has shown by his level of play yet another reason why it is so unfortunate to be missing out on NHL hockey these days. In 7 games with the Oklahoma City Barons, who are currently eighth in the west, Schultz has a more than impressive 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points. His goal tally is tied for second best in the league, and his points total is the highest of any other player in the American Hockey League early on in his first year of professional hockey. For a 22 year old rookie defenseman in a league of men, Schultz has done plenty to boost the Edmonton Oilers’ anticipation for NHL action to resume. Unsurprisingly, Schultz was the second player of the year thus far to receive the AHL’s “Player of the Week” recognition, but accolades and high praise are something that Schultz is used to receiving. Shortly after receiving his player of the weeks status on October 21, Schultz netted two shorthanded goals (one on the empty net) against San Antonio on Friday October 23rd and had a plus/minus 5 rating on the evening and continued with a highlight reel goal against Lake Erie on Saturday after undressing defenseman Cameron Gaunce and beating the goaltender one on one.
“I kind of blacked out there. I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Schultz. ”I usually don’t get many one-on-ones with a goalie.”
Among Schultz’s accomplishments prior to stepping foot on professional ice he is best known for his tenure at the University of Wisconsin. There, as a Badger, he totaled 40 goals and 73 assists for 113 points in 121 games with a plus/minus 27 rating. He was voted the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year two consecutive seasons, made the WCHA All Rookie Team, and twice appeared in the WCHA First All Star Team as well as the NCAA West All American Team. Last season with Wisconsin he was named the Spike Carlson Most Valuable Player by his Wisconsin teammates after finishing second on the team in points, and is currently eighth all time for Wisconsin in points from defensemen. Prior to his collegiate appearance he played two full seasons of Junior A with the Westside Warriors of the BCHL where he was named Interior Conference Top Defensemen in each season. He totaled 24 goals and 90 points in 106 games for the Westside Warriors.
“That was pretty cool.” Schultz said of his experience at Wisconsin. “There were a lot of talented players, especially defensemen,”
“They’re all congratulating me on a good start and my friends and family are able to see too. But, this is only a start. There’s a lot more games in this league than in school. We would only play 41 or 42 a year, max.”
The beauty of Schultz’s offensive game is not that of a prototypical scoring defenseman. Schultz has an uncanny ability to skate the puck through the neutral zone and through top defensive pairings, capable of creating offensive plays or a pin-point accurate shot. Unlike most defensemen whom often blast the puck from the point, Schultz’s strength is his wrist shot. Having won the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year award for the last two consecutive seasons, he’s proven to be no slouch on the defensive side of the game either.
Schultz proved his worth long ago playing next to current Toronto Maple Leafs rising star on defense, Jake Gardiner, at the University of Wisconsin as a fellow blue liner. Accordingly, Schultz is said to be the one Toronto were after in the deal that sent Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim in early 2011, with Gardiner being playing the expendable role in available depth players. None of this has gone well for the Ducks given the fact that Gardiner has excelled tremendously fast, while Schultz never did dress for the club that drafted him.
Schultz, who was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 43rd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, signed as a free agent in the offseason with the Edmonton Oilers. The list of NHL teams eager to sign the then 21 year old was quite a lengthy one, with Anaheim begrudging the deal that was eventually made by the Oilers. The initial entry-level contract of three years, as per CBA stipulations prior to the lockout, was let run dry by the defenseman as he opted to stay in college and rack up a plethora of points and experience, all the while never intending the play with the Ducks. Anaheim would in fact see no compensation for this, as in section 8.3 (b) of the NHL’s former collective bargaining agreement, a team would only receive a compensatory draft pick if a team failed to sign a player that was drafted in the first round.
This, among many clauses in the various outlines of a new collective bargaining agreement, has been a worth-while talking point going forward. While the NHL had originally proposed a five year entry-level contract minimum to avoid such happenings, the league uncharacteristically softened to the NHLPA’s requests, and reduced the minimum or standard to just two years. While a player determined is bound to end up leaving if he wishes, the league and players association must try to remedy these situations - the type that limit teams growth through the draft.
The CBA talking points seemingly have no end, but for players such as the caliber of Justin Schultz, it is a shame that there may not be an opportunity for him to display his talents at the NHL level and almost assuredly challenge for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. Though there is a vast amount of challengers, he has displayed a top level ability early in his pro experience. For the Edmonton Oilers, the fans and organization alike are drooling over the amount of talent they are set to have going into the next hockey season – whenever that may be. Another top challenger for the Calder would be none other than the Oilers’ own 2012first overall draft pick Nail Yakupov, who is a story within his own right.
It’s very difficult to see a positive to a full-season lock out, but for Schultz, he is now amongst professional players on a nightly basis and, as he did with his college career, will only continue to develop and improve his game ahead of the official start to the next season of NHL play.
- Kendall Grubbs
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