Utah Hockey Club forward Nick Schmaltz struggled mightily to produce during the first few months of the season. However, that changed in the month of January after he found his scoring touch again and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Utah has been plagued by injuries all season. Most recently, the team’s top centre, Logan Cooley, was ruled out indefinitely and placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Dylan Guenther returned from his own injury and led Utah to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers with an overtime buzzer beater. Although Utah doesn’t have the results to prove it, Schmaltz really stepped up during Guenther’s absence and hopes it continues.
Flipping the Script
Schmaltz’s first few months to start the season were ones to forget, as he scored zero goals in the first 24 games. By the end of January, the 28-year-old had 12 points in 11 games and had an eight-game point streak. It shows a complete turnaround for the forward. Utah doesn’t have much depth at right-wing, which is why the loss of Guenther created a major hole in the position. It also added more pressure on Schmaltz to perform and he has been able to do so.
With 11 goals and 30 assists for 41 points this season, Schmaltz is a natural-born playmaker with scoring abilities as well. He’s never had more goals than assists in any season during his nine-year career. Schmaltz leads all Utah forwards in total ice time with 1,023 minutes and is third in shots attempts with 242. Schmaltz was hesitant to shoot the puck at the season’s start, but he is now second on Utah in shots on goal with 118.
🚨 Power play goal for Schmaltzy! pic.twitter.com/i2EdXUD7Cg
— Utah Mammoth (@utahhockeyclub) February 1, 2025
One area of his game that Schmaltz needs to be better in is puck possession. Even the best players turn the puck over occasionally, including Clayton Keller. Schmaltz leads all Utah forwards in giveaways with 67, with Keller right behind him with 50. For Schmaltz, 20 of the giveaways came in Utah’s defensive zone.
He’s also in the top 10 in the category with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Nathan Mackinnon and David Pastrnak. That’s some pretty big company to be with despite that being a negative part of the game. It shows that Schmaltz receives the puck often, but he needs to take better care of it.
Why Utah Needs Him
With Utah still pushing for a playoff position, the team will need Schmaltz to continue producing. Utah is still six points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card spot. Although Guenther’s back and is arguably Utah’s top right-winger, Schmaltz is still on the first line and must continue to play like it.
He has two points, a goal and an assist in the past five games. Utah has gone to overtime in four of the five games. Schmaltz could be due for a cold streak after January’s success, but the right-wing/centre can’t afford to go long periods without producing.
Utah should still have high hopes of making the postseason as a playoff spot is well in reach. Schmaltz handled the burden of Guenther’s lower-body injury, which forced him to miss 12 games. There are still 28 games remaining in the season, which is plenty of time for Utah to put together a string of wins. Much like when the team won seven out of nine games to start December.
It’s unlikely for Utah to surpass the Central Division leaders. However, the race to that second wild card in the Western Conference is wide open. Schmaltz will be an important player going forward and must build off his success from last month to help the team win.
Main Photo: James Guillory- Imagn Images
