Nicholas Andrew Schultz (born August 25, 1982) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played 17 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

, and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. The

drafted him in the second round of the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This ...

. He played junior hockey for the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). He represented Canada in international competition at the junior and senior level.

Playing career

Minor

As a child, Schultz played minor hockey in his hometown of Strasbourg for the Maroons. He was selected by the

in the third round (43rd overall) of the 1997

(WHL) Bantam Draft. Before joining the Raiders, Schultz played for

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

Mallers in the

SMAAAHL The Saskatchewan Male U18 'AAA' Hockey League (SMAAAHL), formerly the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League,) is a U-18 'AAA' ice hockey league, with teams based in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the highest level of minor hockey in ...

. During his only season in the SMAAAHL, Schultz was named Rookie of the Year for the Mallers club, as well as being named the Top Defenceman and Most Valuable Player of the league's All-Star Game.

Junior

Schultz made his debut for the Raiders in the 1998–99 WHL season, playing in 58 games, scoring 5 goals and adding 18 assists. In his sophomore season in the WHL, he played in 72 games, scoring 11 goals and adding 33 assists. After the 1999-2000 season, Schultz was named the Raiders top defenceman and most improved player. The

selected Schultz in the second round (33rd overall) of the

. Schultz served as team captain for the 2000–01 season, playing 59 games, scoring 17 goals and adding 30 assists.

Professional

After the Raiders 2000–01 WHL season was complete, Schultz made his professional debut with the

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

of the International Hockey League, suiting up for four games, where he scored a goal and added an assist. The next season, Schultz made his

debut, after making the Wild out of training camp. He made his NHL debut against the

. During his rookie season, Schultz played in 52 games, scoring 4 goals and adding 6 assists. After the Wild's season was complete, Schultz joined the Houston Aeros of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

for the playoffs. On February 27, 2012, Schultz was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Schultz is currently 2nd in all-time games played for the Minnesota Wild with 743 games played. On March 5, 2014, Schultz was traded to the

in exchange for a 5th round pick. Schultz's tenure with the Blue Jackets was kept brief when on July 2, 2014, Schultz joined his fourth NHL club, signing a one-year deal as a free agent with the

. On February 18, 2015, the Flyers re-signed Schultz to a two-year deal worth $2.25 million annually.

International play

Schultz represented Saskatchewan at the 1999

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

Personal life

Schultz grew up on his family's farm in

Strasbourg, Saskatchewan Strasbourg () is a small town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, located about 75 km away from the provincial capital, Regina. The school, William Derby School, which holds kindergarten to Grade 12 has 260 students. History The ea ...

. He has two older brothers, one of whom, Kris, played professional hockey in the CHL and UHL. One of his brothers is named Terrence and his parents' names are Robert and Carol. His cousin

Jesse Schultz Jesse Schultz (born September 28, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played under contract with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Playing career Junior Schu ...

made his NHL debut in the 2006-07 season, playing for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. Schultz is married to Jessica (née Dibb). They have a son (Jake Schultz aka Mr Shortstack) and two daughters.Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Gameday: Wild vs. Edmonton. They make their home in Calgary. Jessica's sister is also married to NHL player

Cory Sarich Cory Sarich (born August 16, 1978) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL). Sarich was a second round selection, 27th overall, of the Buffalo ...

, last of the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

.Hockey Hall of Fame.
Stanley Cup Journals 2004: 37 Schultz is friends with

Jarret Stoll Jarret Lee Stoll (born June 24, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Stoll has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. He is a two-time St ...

and is often present at Stoll's yearly charity golf tournament. On June 26th, 2019, Schultz was hired by the

as a player development coach.

Awards

*Played in the

NHL YoungStars Game The NHL YoungStars Game was an annual match held as part of the National Hockey League All-Star Game weekend activities, which ran from the 2002 All-Star Game to the 2009 game, featuring notable young NHL players and leading prospects. Replacin ...

- 2002–03

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Nick 1982 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Lumberjacks players Columbus Blue Jackets players Edmonton Oilers players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kassel Huskies players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players People from Rural Municipality McKillop No. 220, Saskatchewan Philadelphia Flyers players Prince Albert Raiders players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany