Former UND defenseman Jordan Schmaltz gives his two cents on the state of UND hockey 

GRAND FORKS — Jordan Schmaltz played three hockey seasons for the University of North Dakota.

During his tenure at UND (2012-2015), Schmaltz recorded 64 points in 125 games as a defenseman, helping lead North Dakota to back-to-back Frozen Fours appearances in 2014 and 2015. Schmaltz turned pro following the 2015 season, and UND went on to win the national championship in 2016, breaking a 16-year drought.

For Schmaltz and many other UND fans, it's been a source of frustration to witness the team consistently excel in the regular seasons, only to falter in generating any playoff success in the NCAA tournaments.

 Schmaltz won five NCAA playoff games during his three years at North Dakota.  Since the 2016 national championship, UND has won only one playoff game (5-2 over American International College in 2021).

In a phone call Friday afternoon, Schmaltz discussed his opinions about the current state of UND hockey and what the team needs to do to find success in the NCAA tournament again.

“I think it’s a little bit of some bad luck over the years,” Schmaltz said. “We’ve had some good teams who have won the Penne Rosa (Penrose Cup). Especially this year they finished first in the league. A couple of years ago, with the COVID cancellation season, they had a wagon of a team that year.”

North Dakota has had plenty of teams who have excelled during the regular season. UND head coach Brad Berry has won more Penrose Cups while leading the Hawks than he has lost (five league titles in nine years).

So what's going on? If UND has been so successful during the regular season, why has their play not translated to the playoffs?

“With only one tournament win in the last eight years, it's kinda tough just from an outsider's perspective to pinpoint one thing,” Schmaltz said. “Is it the style of players they are recruiting? The portal has changed a lot of things, and it is basically an NHL-free agency right around April. It's a lot different, even nine or ten years ago when I was stepping on campus, where you didn't have the luxury of going to get players (through the portal) or losing guys if they’re not satisfied with their playing time early in their career.

“I go back to when I was there; our D core was always very good, in terms of guys like Paul LaDue and Troy Stecher—Poolman (Tucker Poolman). I don’t know if it’s one thing going on. It kind of seems right now that it’s tough sledding, and you want the team to get to that next level on the likes of Michigan, BC (Boston College), and BU (Boston University),” Schmaltz said.

Schmaltz acknowledged the excellence of a player like Jackson Blake and some of the other high-end talent that North Dakota has brought in over the years. However, teams like Michigan, Boston College, Boston University, or even Denver and Minnesota are recruiting at the same level as UND. Still, those teams have found much more success in the playoffs than the Fighting Hawks.

Schmaltz talked about some of his North Dakota teams' runs where they reached the Frozen Four semifinals.

“My sophomore and junior year, honestly, our teams weren't even that good,” Schmaltz said. “But the one thing we did have was a very ferda (‘for the boys’ mentality). Just a willingness to buy in and go the extra mile. I think how tight we were off the ice just bled onto the ice.”

When UND made the Frozen Four in 2014 and 2015, not a single player reached the forty-point mark. 

“I think it's crazy,” Schmaltz said. Now you see guys in the sixties or at least one guy in the forties or fifties (point totals). Our production as a whole was not that good, and our teams—there wasn't anything fancy about them—but the willingness to buy in, the message from (Dave) Hakstol, coaching staff, and leadership willed us.

“I don't know because I am not in that locker room, but I think it is a fair question to ask what's going on inside that room. And are we still as tight as these old-school Sioux hockey teams?”

It’s a good question, considering North Dakota finished the 2023-24 season in a disappointing fashion. In the first round of the NCAA playoffs, UND led 2-1 going into the third period. The Hawks let up three straight goals within the first 12 minutes, eventually falling to the Michigan Wolverines 4-3. UND was 20-0 this season when leading heading into the third period. 

“It was a tough one to lose and even swallow as a fan,” Schmaltz said. “You’re up 2-1 going into the third, and then you get outshot like 15-1; it just seems like when the game got a little tight, guys started squeezing their sticks. They were on their heels, and ultimately were playing not to lose.”

Although things have not looked bright for North Dakota in the last few years come playoff time. UND has proven it is a capable team that can compete, recruit, and win meaningful games. Last season, UND won three out of the four games it played against Denver. The Pioneers went on to win the national championship. North Dakota has undoubtedly shown it can beat the best of the best during the regular season.

“You question different things, but Bubba (Brad Berry) is clearly the man for the job,” Schmaltz said. "He’s won a national championship, he’s had great players, and it's kind of about putting the whole package together.”

The transfer portal has become a critical part of college hockey. Although Denver won the national championship without any players transferring in this season, that will likely not be the norm going forward. UND will want to establish a perfect balance between college transfers and recruits coming out of juniors or high school.

“You definitely have to use the portal,” Schmaltz said. “But at the same time, I think recruiting your own is the best way to do it.”

As of now, North Dakota’s pipeline is stacking up very well. UND has multiple recruits who are projected to be drafted in this year's upcoming NHL entry draft. 

Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) forward Sacha Boisvert is projected to be drafted in the first round, and lockdown defenseman E.J. Emery (U.S. NTDP U-18) is expected to go sometime in the early to mid-second round. Both guys are expected to play for UND next season, among a few other high-end guys who have or will be drafted in the later rounds.

Regardless of where guys will land in the draft, that does not affect how UND’s season will go next year. To win a national championship, UND needs to close-out games in the third period and win four games in a row against the top teams in the country.

“It’s all the cliche things,” Schmaltz said. “Staying on the gas, I think the biggest thing is being aggressive. You’re not going to win the game in one shift; we don't need the dangle at the blue line. We don’t need the cross-ice pass in the neutral zone or coming out of our own end. Just pucks forward and keep the game in front of you.

“Those games like that (NCAA playoff games), it’s all about execution, and again, not playing scared. You can’t play scared in those games, and especially in the third period you got to stay on the gas, and you got to have those dogs on your team that are savages.”

UND will have plenty of time to evaluate what went wrong in their regional loss to Michigan. The Fighting Hawks know that a first-round exit will not be acceptable next year, and they will be ready to get rolling next season.