Player Discussion Nate Schmidt

[FreeMcdavid]

Nate Schmidt
6'0 195 lbs
Shoots Left
Plays Right Side D

Discuss player and not management please!

Personally, I'm way beyond excitied to add a Dman at this calibre to the team. Today, right now, I'd say he is better than Quinn Hughes, thats how good he is.

Watching him play throughout the last 3 yrs or so id describe him as Dan Hamhuis with elite skating, harder shot, and waay better offensive instincts and abilities.

If you have a moment just watch some of the hilights between Vegas and Winnepeg in the Western Conference Finals. Schmidt was just beautiful to watch. He was widely credited for the job he did vs Mark Scheifile.

Reading all reports, he was also a teammate favorite in the locker room which will be big considering the chemistry that has left the team this year. Nate was also one of the most giving person in terms of time in the community and volunteering in Las Vegas, he will fit right in with what the Canucks do around the community.

I think he will be paired with Alex Edler in what will become our top line matchup Defence.

Another thing that Nate gives us is insurance, god forbid something happens to Hughes, Nate can step in with PP1 and produce. Booming shot and elite vision.

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[clay]

Very tough to find any flaws in his game. Elite skater, great defender, possession monster. If you had 4 of him in your top 4, you would have the puck all game.

 

[wonton15]

He seems like a very high character guy. Goofy, funny, articulate; everyone will love him on the team. There are going to be some strong bromances and memes. So excited for this guy. What a steal

 

[WetcoastOrca]

He fills our number one need which was an all round steady number two D to supplement our number one in Hughes.
Hughes/ Schmidt (edit) has the potential to be the best one- two punch we’ve ever had even though overall we’ve had better defensive groups when taking into account all six positions.
We still have some holes to fill but the toughest ones are filled with a franchise C and D in place, a number two D who plays big minutes in all situations and a top second line center and top line winger. If Demko becomes a number one goalie then the foundation of a really good team is in place.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Not a top 15 dman to me but certainly an upgrade on Tanev, a noticeable downgrade on Pietrangelo.
Maybe a bit overpaid for a bit long, but nothing egregious, and a much better value than OEL.

For a 3rd in 2 years it's probably a top 5 trade in the last 30 years.

 

[Laterade]

can we call him juice

 

[VanillaCoke]

can we call him juice

Absolutely not.

 

[Nucker101]

Seems like a fun guy:

Interview from today:
Vancouver Canucks @Canucks

 

[FreeMcdavid]

He fills our number one need which was an all round steady number two D to supplement our number one in Hughes.
Hughes/ Schultz has the potential to be the best one- two punch we’ve ever had even though overall we’ve had better defensive groups when taking into account all six positions.
We still have some holes to fill but the toughest ones are filled with a franchise C and D in place, a number two D who plays big minutes in all situations and a top second line center and top line winger. If Demko becomes a number one goalie then the foundation of a really good team is in place.

Justin is finally coming home?

 

[82Ninety42011]

If he's as good as advertised on these boards were sitting pretty with a 1D and 2D anchoring the defence so Edler and Myers can slot down to 3 and 4. Finding an Edler replacement should be our next goal moving forward but much easier to find a second pairing LHD then was getting our first pairing RHD !!

 

[FreeMcdavid]

 

[FreeMcdavid]

Really interesting to here him talk about the buzz the young Canucks had in the bubble and wht Vegas and other teams thought of him. Very articulate guy and well spoken.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Honestly don't know too much about him. I've seen reports saying he's a #1 and others saying a good #4.

Realistically what can we hope for?

 

[Blue and Green]

Very tough to find any flaws in his game. Elite skater, great defender, possession monster. If you had 4 of him in your top 4, you would have the puck all game.

Good enough at defending to play on a first pair but I wouldn't call him great defensively. He's not a shutdown guy.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Justin is finally coming home?

Oops!

 

[FreeMcdavid]

Honestly don't know too much about him. I've seen reports saying he's a #1 and others saying a good #4.

Realistically what can we hope for?

A good #4?

geezus maybe on the TEAM USA olympic team he would be a good #4

Hes a top pairing Dman who plays against the other teams best player every night and he does it well and puts up great analytics and even points while doing so. He defends differently than Tanev though. Schmidts defends with his elite skating and postioning, hes not a shot blocker or greasy defender like a Tanev.

He allowed Shea Theodore to get sheltered a bit which is what i suspect he will do for Hughes.

 

[clay]

Good enough at defending to play on a first pair but I wouldn't call him great defensively. He's not a shutdown guy.

He was exactly that in Vegas - played some of the hardest minutes in the league and did it very effectively. He is an excellent all around defender, is dynamic, and plays hard. Really difficult to poke any holes in his game like I said.

 

[F A N]

Pair him with Hughes?

 

[Bankerguy]

People are not giving him enough credit for the offense he drives.
97 pts in like 196 games which represents his last thee seasons.
This equates to .49 points per game. That's a 41 point pace.
Very nice.

also, only 26 of those 97 pts were on the PP. Reports of him driving offense via counter-attacking and break-outs is supported by that.

Really like this deal.

I wouldnt mind us giving a guy like Hamonic a 1 year contract. Having a stay-at-home guy anchoring the third pairing would be nice. Especially if a guy in the top four get hurt. However, based on what i'm seeing, there just isnt enough cap space

 

[FreeMcdavid]

Pair him with Hughes?

Schmidt plays vs the other teams top line, im not so certain Hughes is ready for that role.

Definiely when we are down 1-2 goals in the 3rd period i can definitely see them playin togehter.

 

[GetFocht]

He was a top pairing defenceman on a Stanley Cup contending team. He isn't some cast off, he was playing excellent hockey for Vegas.

 

[wonton15]

Pair him with Hughes?

He'll definitely be tried there but I think we'll see Hughes-Myers, Edler-Schmidt. Allows for a great puckmover to be out there on two pairings for like 40+ minutes a night. Edler and Schmidt will take heavy matchup minutes, and Schmidt will see time with Hughes in late game situations or when we need that extra offense

 

[Saturated Fats]

This makes a natural and seamless succession plan not to just for Tanev, but for a lot of Edler's hard minutes in the event that he leaves after the coming season. Schmidt is a borderline-top 30 blue liner in the league, and is in the prime of his career. He should play at this level for another 3 years at least, which would be strong value. To look at this as a steal is obvious, and we will appreciate it even moreso in a year when our cap crunch isn't as tight, and after he has shown us his top-pairing pedigree.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

so in the end was there any conclusion about what that whole steroids thing was? did he clear his name or did it just blow over?

 

[FreeMcdavid]

so in the end was there any conclusion about what that whole steroids thing was? did he clear his name or did it just blow over?

suspened 20, he says it was environmental mistake, Vegas investigated and believed him by signing him to long term contract right after. he has passed every ped test since. i believe they test u more once u have failed, like a probationary thing.