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<\/a><\/p>\n\n Nick Schmaltz has scored between 58 and 63 points the past four seasons. This season, he\u2019s on pace for 105. (Steph Chambers \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Nylander and Schmaltz have remained close pals since playing together on the 2010-11 Chicago Mission Bantam AAA team \u2014 on a line with Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak. Imagine that trio coming at you in Bantam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were unstoppable, it felt like,\u201d Nylander said with a smile. \u201cWe were just on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Um, yeah. Nylander put up 34 goals and 61 points in 29 games that season, Schmaltz had 24 and 55 in 27 games and Dvorak 10 and 24 in 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was unreal,\u201d Schmaltz recalled with a smile. \u201cJust crazy to look back at it and see where we\u2019re at now. We were super close off the ice. I was from Madison (Wisconsin), so I would come to Chicago to play and stay with Dvorak or Nylander.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe dominated pretty good. It was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three years later at the 2014 NHL draft, Nylander would go No. 8 to Toronto, Schmaltz No. 20 to the Chicago Blackhawks and Dvorak No. 58 to the Arizona Coyotes.<\/p>\n
With Nylander signed long-term in Toronto and Dvorak leaving Montreal for Philadelphia in free agency last summer, it\u2019s Schmaltz\u2019s turn to make some big decisions over the coming year. His seven-year deal carrying a $5.85 million cap hit expires after the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try not to think about it too much,\u201d Schmaltz said of his pending free agency. \u201cBut obviously it\u2019s on your mind at some point. You just let the agent do his thing. Just play hard every night and everything should take care of itself. That\u2019s where I\u2019m at.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
There haven\u2019t been any meaningful negotiations to date, interestingly. The Mammoth have chosen to be patient with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think we\u2019ve been very clear with the agent and with the player on our understanding of where we are right now and where we\u2019re moving to,\u201d Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said, confirming the quiet state of negotiations on an extension with Schmaltz\u2019s camp, led by veteran agent Kurt Overhardt. \u201cI do think there\u2019s been a lot of clarity and transparency about where we\u2019re at now. I think it\u2019s in a good spot, and I\u2019ll tell you why: He\u2019s leading the team in points, and we\u2019re winning. We\u2019ve been clear with our message.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message from the team is essentially that if Schmaltz can help Utah get over that playoff hump this season, and he\u2019s a big part of things, then those contract talks will take care of themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big theme this year for him is that he\u2019s got to get us into the playoffs and help us win in the playoffs,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, Schmaltz certainly hasn\u2019t let any of it affect him. He\u2019s on fire to start the season \u2014 a man possessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been so impressed with Nick, with his growth every single year,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cJust a little bit better, a little bit better, a little better. I like the fact that he went home in the summer and put a lot of time in, in getting better. That was a big thing for us. When he left last year, we walked through where we\u2019d like him to get better and explained, \u2018Hey this is where we\u2019d like to see you play, and this is your role. You need to work on these key elements of your game.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like there was an awakening for the first time, where he went home and trained. I had a coffee with him midway through the summer, and I was impressed with his mindset and his thought process. My main thing I always tell the guys, and they get sick of this, \u2018Confidence comes from source.\u2019 His source of confidence came from the amount of work he did in the summer. That\u2019s why you see him doing what he\u2019s doing now. He\u2019s put the time in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmaltz\u2019s offseason training has paid dividends. That was the goal: to go next-level with his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to continue to get better every year, and I feel like I\u2019ve been pretty good the last couple of years, but I still thought there was another level for me to get to and I could be a high-end player,\u201d Schmaltz said. \u201cSo I really focused on that. I did some different stuff off the ice as far as workouts and training.\u201d<\/p>\n
He worked with skills coach Jonathan Sigalet, for one.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust doing some video stuff and different areas off the ice where top guys like to hang out and their tendencies \u2014 learning from high-end guys,\u201d Schmaltz said of the skills work. \u201cI think having a great team to start the year also helps. We\u2019ve got four lines that know their roles and identity, and it makes it easier on everyone.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been a solid top-six guy for many years. Now he wants more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the goal,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s still early and there\u2019s lots of hockey left. Having a lot of fun. When you\u2019re winning, it gets everyone\u2019s confidence higher out there. Just trying to enjoy the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nylander couldn\u2019t say enough about his pal\u2019s overall game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the puck, he does a great job,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the puck, the way he sees the ice \u2014 he makes those small, little plays, gets people to come toward him and feeds someone else that\u2019s open. I\u2019m not surprised he\u2019s leading the team in scoring, because he has an unbelievable shot and he\u2019s going to find those soft areas. I told him before he should shoot more. Now he\u2019s shooting at least.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said there are a few components to Schmaltz\u2019s impressive opening month of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, I think his line (with Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton) is playing really good,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cSecond, his effort, his inside game, reloading, both sides of the puck \u2014 he produces offensively, but he does a lot of good things defensively as well. So I\u2019m really proud of him for that. And I think we\u2019re more balanced as a team, and that balances (opposing matchups) a little bit, so that helps everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut his focus and consistency so far is elite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmaltz isn\u2019t a rah-rah guy. He\u2019s got a calm demeanor. But that shouldn\u2019t be misinterpreted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNick can be misunderstood in that he\u2019s a quiet guy, but probably nobody cares more underneath,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cYou have to know him to appreciate him. And you have to understand how much he cares behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Schmaltz cares about now is playing his first playoff game since his rookie season in Chicago in 2016-17. Those Arizona years were tough. The move to Utah has been unreal. Now comes the most important part.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to see ownership go all-in on us, and we\u2019re trying to repay the favor,\u201d Schmaltz said. \u201cPlayoff hockey would definitely be fun. It\u2019s been a long time for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 When Martin Necas signed his recent extension with the Colorado Avalanche last week, the natural reaction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85,7528],"class_list":{"0":"post-268680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-utah-mammoth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}