When Jimmy Schuldt looks at his upcoming senior year at St. Cloud State University, he sees an opportunity to summit a couple of mountains that he's been scaling since his freshman year.
Coming out of Vegas Golden Knights development camp, Schuldt is ready to prove that he belongs in the NHL at the end of his upcoming senior season by reaching the two highest peaks in college hockey.
Schuldt's High Aspirations Center On Success Heading Into Senior Year
The first peak that he had his eye on even before committing to SCSU is the national championship. Schuldt became a Husky fan at a young age by way of his parents, Steve and Sheri, who both graduated from the school. Growing up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, the Schuldt's were only an hour away from Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
As his early hockey career progressed, Schuldt's passion for St. Cloud reached a new level when he was able to commit to play for the school he's cheered for his entire life.
"St. Cloud is a place that's really near and dear to my heart," Schuldt said.
Schuldt starred on the blueline for perennial powerhouse Minnetonka High School where he caught the attention of the St. Cloud coaching staff. After high school, he spent two seasons with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League and was once named the defenseman of the year for the team.
His upward progress continued in his freshman year as he posted 23 points in 38 games as the Huskies skated to a 31-9-1 record. With a No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Regional, Schuldt and SCSU were upset by Ferris State in a 5-4 loss in the first round. Despite aspirations of reaching the tournament again, the 2016-17 Huskies were ousted by North Dakota in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) playoffs and their hopes of national glory slipped through their paws once again.
The NCHC produces powerful teams every season and, if a team gets off to a slow start, the rest of the teams in the conference can put them in the rearview mirror very quickly. The last three national champions (North Dakota 2016, Denver 2017, Minnesota-Duluth 2018) have come from the NCHC, making it that much more competitive for Schuldt and the Huskies. He recognizes the talent in the conference, but only sees it as motivator to be better.
"In my mind, it's the best league in the country," Schuldt said. "Every night is a huge battle, you can't take any team lightly."
Last season, Schuldt wore the "C" as team captain for the second year in a row. All year long, SCSU was among the top teams in the nation and, at season's end, they earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament despite being bounced from the NCHC playoffs by Denver.
With a seemingly favorable matchup against Air Force, Schuldt's team was unable to muster the effort that they showed all season long and the top-ranked Huskies fell, 4-1.
The 2017-18 Huskies looked like national championship favorites the whole year, but it wasn't in the cards for Schuldt as a junior. Now, Schuldt is poised to restart his quest for the most important team trophy in college hockey, but if it doesn't happen, Schuldt understands how rare it is to win it all.
"If winning a championship doesn't happen, I can still be proud of my four years there," Schuldt said.
Schuldt said that team success is number one, but his individual success last season made him a contender for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award - the annual trophy given to the most outstanding player in college hockey. His 38 points (10 G, 28 A) ranked third nationally among defensemen while his eight power play goals were tops in the country among blueliners.
The award went to Northeastern's Adam Gaudette, but Schuldt's presence as a top-10 finalist makes him a front-runner for the award next season. Climbing the Hobey Baker mountain is something that would mean a lot to Schuldt, but he'll be the first to tell you that it's really a team award.
"A lot of my personal success just comes from the team having success," Schuldt said. "On our team this year, we had no superstars. We had a lot of guys that could easily have been in my shoes."
Only Drew LeBlanc (2013) has brought the Hobey Baker back to St. Cloud, but with the right mix of personal and team success, this could be Schuldt's year.
