Nick Schmaltz is Utah Mammoth MVP 1 month into season

SALT LAKE CITY — Sunday marked the official one-month mark of the NHL season for the Utah Mammoth.

With a big enough sample size to move beyond the "still too early" naysayers, it is safe to say the story of the season so far for the Mammoth is 29-year-old forward Nick Schmaltz.

If you look at nothing else, simply compare Schmaltz's opening months in his first two seasons so far in Utah. Last year, it took him until Nov. 30 to score his first goal; this year, he leads the team with nine on Nov. 10.

Three of those nine goals came on Oct. 17 against the San Jose Sharks for the first home hat trick in Utah's brief NHL history. The latest was an inspiring effort down 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, with Schmaltz collecting the puck near his own blue line and blazing down the right wing for a nifty move at the net.

Schmaltz let out a, "Let's (expletive) go!" after the goal to try and spark a comeback for the Mammoth, but it wasn't in the cards.

Despite the result continuing the Mammoth's three-game losing streak, Schmaltz believes the team's potential is much closer to its seven-game winning streak than to its current skid.

"We've got to be able to turn the momentum back in our favor and just play our game for a full 60 minutes," Schmaltz said. "Because no one can really play with us when we're playing at our best."

Perhaps the best example of that was the team's 4-3 overtime win over the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 21, when Schmaltz scored the opening goal for Utah on a power play.

Six of Schmaltz's 19 points so far this season have come on the power play (three goals, three assists), but the special teams well has run dry for the Mammoth with no power play goals in their last six games.

"I think (the power play) feeds everything," Schmaltz said. "When you're scoring on the power play, guys get more confidence. Special teams wins a lot of games in this league, so we've got to be a difference."

Schmaltz has been the difference in most of the games that have gone Utah's way this season, earning him our MVP award at the one-month mark of the season.

The Wisconsin native's career high in points for a season is 63, which he reached last year in Utah's inaugural season. At his current rate, Schmaltz will reach that mark by game 53 of the 82-game season, and could even flirt with the first 100-point season in Utah history when all is said and done.

Utah has played its best hockey at home this season, with a 4-1 record at the Delta Center, and has a chance to stack some wins with six of its next eight games at home, starting on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. MST.

Related topics