Nate Schmidt

Nathan Thomas Schmidt (born July 16, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights.

Nate Schmidt
Schmidt with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020
Born (1991-07-16) July 16, 1991[1]
St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Vancouver Canucks
Washington Capitals
Vegas Golden Knights
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2013–present

As an undrafted player, Schmidt signed with the Capitals in 2013 after playing for the University of Minnesota. He was claimed by the expansion Golden Knights in 2017, and was part of the upstart inaugural season of the Golden Knights that saw them become the first NHL expansion team to qualify for the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season against his former team, the Capitals.

Playing career

Amateur

While a member of St. Cloud Cathedral of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), Schmidt was selected first overall by the Fargo Force in the 2007 United States Hockey League Futures Draft.[2] His lone year with the Force came during the 2009–10 season, where he recorded 14 goals and 37 points in 57 games.

Schmidt played college hockey with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NCAA Men's Division I WCHA conference. In his junior year, Schmidt's play was rewarded with a selection to the 2012–13 All-WCHA First Team.[3]

Professional
Schmidt with the Washington Capitals in 2016.

Washington Capitals

On April 2, 2013, as an undrafted player, Schmidt signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals.[4] Schmidt played the final eight games of the 2012–13 regular season and five postseason games with the Capitals' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

Schmidt started the 2013–14 season with the Bears but was called up to the Capitals after just one game.[5] He made his NHL debut on October 12, 2013, against the Colorado Avalanche.[6] He scored his first NHL goal on December 7, 2013 against Marek Mazanec of the Nashville Predators. Schmidt was reassigned to Hershey on December 15, 2013.[7]

Vegas Golden Knights

After four seasons with the Capitals, Schmidt was left exposed by the club in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. He was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights on June 21, 2017.[8] After going to an arbitrator in August, Schmidt signed a two-year, $4.45 million contract with the Golden Knights.[9] During his first season with the team, Schmidt found success, putting up career high numbers in points and leading the Golden Knights in average playing time.[10] He helped lead the Golden Knights to the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs in their inaugural season, only to lose in the finals to his former team.[11]

Prior to the 2018–19 season, Schmidt was suspended 20 games for violating the NHL's performance-enhancing drug use policy.[12] He appealed his suspension, but the arbitrator upheld it.[13] On October 25, while serving his suspension, the Golden Knights signed Schmidt to a six-year, $35.8 million extension.[14]

Vancouver Canucks

On October 12, 2020, Schmidt was traded by the Vegas Golden Knights to the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.[15] He stated his unhappiness following the trade, citing a lack of communication with Vegas management and calling it "a tough pill to swallow".[16]

Personal life

Schmidt was born to Tom and JoAnn Schmidt, and grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota with two siblings.[17] Schmidt is also the brother in law of fellow NHL player Mitch Reinke. Growing up, Schmidt also played football and baseball, before deciding to stick with hockey.[18]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 St. Cloud Cathedral MNHS 16 17 14 31 — — — — —
2007–08 St. Cloud Cathedral MNHS 16 10 12 22 — — — — —
2008–09 St. Cloud Cathedral MNHS 25 21 24 45 30 3 3 1 4 6
2009–10 Fargo Force USHL 57 14 23 37 81 13 0 6 6 2
2010–11 University of Minnesota WCHA 13 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2011–12 University of Minnesota WCHA 43 3 38 41 14 — — — — —
2012–13 University of Minnesota WCHA 40 9 23 32 16 — — — — —
2012–13 Hershey Bears AHL 8 1 2 3 4 5 0 2 2 0
2013–14 Hershey Bears AHL 38 2 11 13 12 — — — — —
2013–14 Washington Capitals NHL 29 2 4 6 6 — — — — —
2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 39 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
2014–15 Hershey Bears AHL 19 3 6 9 6 8 4 5 9 0
2015–16 Washington Capitals NHL 72 2 14 16 16 10 0 1 1 2
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 60 3 14 17 16 11 1 3 4 4
2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 76 5 31 36 16 20 3 4 7 4
2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 61 9 21 30 8 7 0 4 4 2
2019–20 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 59 7 24 31 12 20 2 7 9 4
NHL totals 396 29 111 140 84 68 6 19 25 16

Awards and honors
Award Year
College
All-WCHA Second Team 2011–12
All-WCHA First Team 2012–13 [19]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2012–13

References
  1. Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
  2. "2007 USHL Futures Draft". Elite Prospects.
  3. "WCHA Awards". Western Collegiate Hockey Association. March 13, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  4. "Capitals Sign Nate Schmidt". Washington Capitals. April 2, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  5. "Ex-Gopher Schmidt gets big shot in NHL with Caps". Minnesota Star Tribune. November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  6. Leone, Tim (October 11, 2013). "Washington Capitals recall Nate Schmidt, reassign Connor Carrick and Michael Latta to Hershey Bears". The Patriot-News. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  7. "Caps Recall Latta from Hershey, Re-assign Schmidt to Hershey". Capitalstoday.com. December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  8. "Capitals lose defenseman Nate Schmidt in Vegas expansion draft". Washington Post. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  9. Carp, Steve (August 5, 2017). "Nate Schmidt to receive $4.45M after arbiter rules". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  10. Fox, Luke (May 28, 2018). "Capitals castoff Nate Schmidt has flourished with Golden Knights". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  11. Rosen, Dan (June 8, 2018). "Capitals win Stanley Cup, defeat Golden Knights in Game 5 of Final". NHL.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  12. "Golden Knights defenceman Nate Schmidt suspended 20 games". Sportsnet.ca. September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. Graney, Ed (September 3, 2018). "Nate Schmidt's case casts light on laughable NHL drug testing". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  14. Gartner, Jordan. "Vegas Golden Knights, Nate Schmidt agree on 6-year extension". KTNV-TV. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  15. TSN ca Staff (October 12, 2020). "Vancouver Canucks acquire D Nate Schmidt from Vegas Golden Knights - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  16. "Nate Schmidt explained how Vegas traded him and the whole thing sounds really rough". Bardown.com. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  17. Khurshudyan, Isabelle (December 11, 2015). "Fathers' trip extra special for Schmidts as Nate's role on Capitals has grown". Washington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  18. Prewitt, Alex (October 9, 2015). "Nate Schmidt is the Capitals' renewable energy source". Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  19. "Conference Honors, 2012–13". College Hockey.com. March 24, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
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