Nick Schmaltz stepped on the ice for his Rockford IceHogs AHL debut on Wednesday night expected to immediately become their best offensive weapon. This is the first time I’ve been able to see him in game action. He did not disappoint.
Schmaltz was noticeable from his first shift Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford. He ended up scoring the IceHogs only two goals of the night. On his first shift he burst into the offensive zone, made a sweet, quick, lateral move to get around the defenseman, and just missed the post with his shot. Schmaltz scored on his first official AHL shot after being sent in on a breakaway after receiving a pass from line mate Spencer Abbott at 10:43 of the second period.
Schmaltz tallied again at 19:41 of the second with a blistering wrist shot into the top corner of the net from the right circle. Before you get concerned that he didn’t get his first official shot on goal until 10:43 of the 2nd period, consider that the IceHogs spent most of play up until that point in the game killing penalties called by a referee who apparently thought he was there to judge a figure skating competition, not a hockey game.
But I digress … It was evident from start to finish that Schmaltz is an extremely gifted hockey player. His skills are certainly top end. His speed, vision, and passing are all exciting to watch. He electrified the crowd with several high speed rushes. He made multiple passes that were precise and deft. He found open wingers through crowds. When he was drafted one of the positives repeated was that Schmaltz has a terrific ability to make plays at top speed, and can stickhandle in tight places. He’s able to make space for himself with his speed. That is certainly the case as he was able to do this throughout the contest beginning with that first rush. He looked like a very confident young hockey player.
Schmaltz could definitely be a little more sound defensively, but had a good night in his own end as well. He has a slight build and definitely will benefit from bulking up. If he has a limitation it’s that he’s not much for getting his nose dirty. He pulled up multiple times Wednesday night and clearly was not much interested in doing any board work. That may change with time as he gains more muscle on his frame, which would be understandable.
Not that there is a comparison of overall player, but when Patrick Kane arrived on the scene there was talk in his first few years that he wasn’t willing to stick his nose into a scrum and get it a little dirty. Now Kane can be seen battling for pucks along the boards, which certainly has a strong correlation to putting some meat on the bones.
Schmaltz may have been disappointed at being sent down, along with some Blackhawks fans wanting the talented young rookie to flourish in Chicago, but if he is able to become as confident in the NHL as he looked Wednesday night in Rockford, everybody will realize that this was the best thing for him at this time. His stint in Rockford can be nothing other than beneficial. Let’s hope it continues to go as well as his first game. It was one game, it’s the AHL, but the highest touted rookie prior to Schmaltz was Teuvo Teravainen, and he never looked half as good in his time with the IceHogs as Schmaltz did Wednesday night.