UND is extremely deep at forward. Keep that in mind when I say that for the majority of the year, Schmaltz played the 3rd line center role. 5 on 5, he played mostly with Stephane Pattyn and Colten St. Clair, two upperclassmen grinder's with very little skill.
He is on the first PP, and without a doubt, it runs through him and his brother Jordan. It seems to me his strengths (hands, vision, passing) and weaknesses (compete level, strength) haven't really changed. His defensive positioning is very good, but his lack of compete really inhibits his effectiveness without the puck.
UND's first line center went down for the year 3 weeks ago. Since then, he was thrust into that role and has competed substantially harder. He is at about 52% on faceoffs, so solid, yet unspectacular.
He is a player that always leaves you wanting more, but then about once a game he will make an unbelievable player that leaves you saying "yeah, he should be a first rounder". There was a play a couple of weeks ago where he held the puck in the slot for a couple of seconds, sucked all of the defensive player's to within a stick's length of him, and then sauced it to his brother for a tap in goal. It was vision, poise, and passing skills all at an elite level.
If his consistency and compete level go way up, he is a top end NHL player. If they don't, he may never get a shot at the NHL.
