Schmaltz capitalizing on ‘ton of chances’ with Mammoth

There came a point when Nick Schmaltz knew he could do better. He knew there was more production to be found, given how often he found himself in the slot, how choice most chances could be.

The Utah Mammoth forward knew he could get more out of himself.

“I feel like I’ve always gotten a ton of chances from the slot, and I’ve been high up in the League in like opportunities from the slot,” Schmaltz said at TD Garden in Boston last week. “I just feel like I should be finishing more.”

He looked around the NHL, zeroing in on two forwards, Sam Reinhart and Brayden Point.

They would be his models. Schmaltz had Utah’s skills coach cut some video of Reinhart’s and Point’s shots and goals, focusing on their chances from that area of the ice. He watched and learned.

“Especially on the power play in the middle, those two guys are pretty elite at finishing and, I don’t know, I just kind of watch where they hang out and where they shoot when they get the puck,” Schmaltz said. “Obviously, they’re great players, so I’m just trying to take anything I can from them and put it in my game.”

In the season-plus since Schmaltz focused on Reinhart and Point, he has blown past his previous NHL career highs, with 74 points (33 goals, 41 assists) in 82 games in 2025-26 and eight points in six games so far this season, including a goal in each of Utah’s first four games. Schmaltz enters its game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; Mammoth+, Utah16, TSN4) tied with Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov for the League lead with six goals.

I think some of the stuff like where you’re at in the slot kind of decides where you put the puck,” Schmaltz said. “So, it’s like if you’re over to the right a little bit more, you might want to go short side, but if you’re over here and the goalie has to move more, far side’s open, stuff like that. That’s pretty interesting, the statistics on where to shoot based on where you get the puck basically.”

It’s not just Schmaltz who is soaring for the Mammoth (4-2-0) thus far this season. They are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for fifth in the NHL in goals per game (3.67), and their power play is tops in the League (40 percent). Schmaltz scored his NHL-leading fourth power-play goal of the season in a 4-1 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

“We’re offensive and instinctive players, and I think we’ve just got to use that,” Schmaltz said. “I think sometimes when you get on the power play you kind of lay back a little bit and kind of just think it’s going to be easy, and you just hang out and don’t really move.

“I think we’re playing more like 5-on-5 on the power play, we’re being aggressive, and when we have an opportunity we’re taking it right away. We’re not looking for the next-best option, we’re just taking it and then reacting off of that.”

Schmaltz, who signed an eight-year, $64 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on March 11, is a key piece, a player who weathered the final years of the Arizona Coyotes and who, at age 30 seems reborn with the Mammoth.

“He’s such a smart player, smart individual, but smart hockey player who reads the game really well, has a really good stick and he creates movement of the puck,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “He’s not the guy who when you watch you will see something (that’s) super flashy, but if you watch carefully he does everything right. He’s in the right spot. I still think he’s good when he’s around the net, he’s good when he’s driving the net, has good net presence. I think right now that line is playing good.”

Schmaltz’s line also features forwards Clayton Keller and Vincent Trocheck. Keller is tied with Schmaltz for the team lead with eight points (one goal, seven assists); Trocheck, who was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on July 1, has two points (one goal, one assist) through six games and is winning 61.9 percent of his face-offs.

But Schmaltz has never been that invested in stats or buried himself in numbers.

After studying Reinhart and Point, however, his perspective has been altered. He’s able to make the save harder for the goalie, increasing his chances at scoring and the Mammoth’s chances of winning.

He’s converting, too, which was why teammate Lawson Crouse called him, “hotter than toast” last week.

“I try not to think about it too much,” Schmaltz said. “I just try to give myself opportunities every night. Sometimes they’re going to go in, sometimes I might have eight shots and none of them are going to go in. It’s just stick with it and keep having fun.”