Schultz 40+ ?

[Jake44]

He's dominated at the university level....people say he can't do it at the pro level.....well I guess down goes that theory with regards to the AHL.....does anyone else besides me think he will surpass the 40 point mark this year (provided there is a 82 gm schedule) in the NHL? Oilers are my team so I have high hopes on this one for sure.

[dyzfunctioned]

40+ in his rookie season? I highly doubt it and would gladly bet against it (and this coming from a big Oil and Schultz fan).

[dmvincent]

He's dominated at the university level....people say he can't do it at the pro level.....well I guess down goes that theory with regards to the AHL.....does anyone else besides me think he will surpass the 40 point mark this year (provided there is a 82 gm schedule) in the NHL? Oilers are my team so I have high hopes on this one for sure.

I wouldn't bank on that if I were you, there are a lot of things that could go wrong in his rookie season.

If I had to project a total for him in his first season, it would be around 30-35 points.

In his second year? Sure, he could hit 40.

[bondon]

40+ in his rookie season? I highly doubt it and would gladly bet against it (and this coming from a big Oil and Schultz fan).

What a homer.

Lol, smart money would be to bet the under, but I guess you never know. I mean how many people expected Tyler Myers to put up 48 points in his rookie year, or Phaneuf to put up 49. They went different routes true, but my point is that sometimes things just happen that we don't expect.

[ericdaoust]

1) He would need a full 82 game season to even come close. This is not likely to happen.
2) He is a rookie and is far from a finished product. He would probably experience plenty of ups and downs in the big league which could cut into his ice time for stretches.

Don't get carried away with rookie expectations.

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

Although I wouldn't expect 40+ out of him, he's definitely in a great situation to score that much as a rookie. Pietrangelo, Fowler, Shattenkirk, Phaneuf, and Myers have all done it recently along with Carlson and Del Zotto coming very close, so although it's rare it's not impossible.

Factor in what Schultz is doing so far in the AHL, the fact that he's one of the more offensively skilled defense prospects, plus he'll be running the top PP with 4 very good forwards, and I don't see any reason why he couldn't break 40 this year besides being overly cautious. So actually yes, I will be looking to draft him this season as a 40+ point defenseman.

[DerekReese]

I would realistically put him at 22-26 points this year.

[kevinsrangers]

id be happy with 30 - 35 points in his rookie season. pro-rated to 82 games of course.

[shovelguy]

Considering he's more used to playing a 40 game schedule, I would put him in the mid 20's if there's a condensed 82 game schedule this season.

[Big Ev]

He's dominated at the university level....people say he can't do it at the pro level.....well I guess down goes that theory with regards to the AHL.....

Who said "he can't do it art the pro level"? Even if they said that, there's a huge difference between NHL and AHL.

[Reuben]

Assuming it's an 82gm season, why wouldn't he have a shot at 40pts?

He's playing with the next great group of offensive players. He's going to be given every chance in the world alongside them. He was lusted after by about 20 (or more) teams, which leads me to think he's got legit skill. And he's basically got no competition for PP time (with apologies to Whitney and, I dunno, Potter).

Shattenkirk had 43pts in a later start split between an okay scoring team in Col and a low-scoring team in StL.

Fowler had 40 on a high-scoring Ducks team that had a huge PP.

Subban had 38pts in Montreal as a rookie.

John Carlson had 37 with Washington.

Jake Gardiner just had 30pts in Toronto, but only 7 pp points.

The point is - Schultz may not hit 40. In fact, it would be a really good rookie year if he did. But to say he has no chance is ridiculous. His situation is about as good as it can get for a young, offensive-minded defensman.

Just because he didn't sign with your team doesn't automatically mean Schultz is an over-rated dog.

[ericdaoust]

Assuming it's an 82gm season, why wouldn't he have a shot at 40pts?

He's playing with the next great group of offensive players. He's going to be given every chance in the world alongside them. He was lusted after by about 20 (or more) teams, which leads me to think he's got legit skill. And he's basically got no competition for PP time (with apologies to Whitney and, I dunno, Potter).

Shattenkirk had 43pts in a later start split between an okay scoring team in Col and a low-scoring team in StL.

Fowler had 40 on a high-scoring Ducks team that had a huge PP.

Subban had 38pts in Montreal as a rookie.

John Carlson had 37 with Washington.

Jake Gardiner just had 30pts in Toronto, but only 7 pp points.

The point is - Schultz may not hit 40. In fact, it would be a really good rookie year if he did. But to say he has no chance is ridiculous. His situation is about as good as it can get for a young, offensive-minded defensman.

Just because he didn't sign with your team doesn't automatically mean Schultz is an over-rated dog.

Of course he can do it. But most people are skeptical to make such a projection for fantasy hockey expectations. Most prospects need a bit of time before they deliver the goods.

[dyzfunctioned]

No one is saying it's impossible. I just think it's important to be realistic. Only 19 defencemen hit 40 points last year.

So to expect Schultz to be top-20 in d-men scoring in his rookie season is pretty lofty expectations. I do think he'll get low-to-mid-30's, though, assuming a full 82 game season, which would put him top 30-40 in d-men scoring.

[Ron Burgundy]

Dont forget Whitney. He may never be a 50+ pt D-man again, but he certainly was that as recently as 2 years ago (27 pts in 35 games), he is apparently in the best shape he has been in for years, and as a result the job of running the Oiler powerplay is his to lose. As the Oil are likely to go 4 fwds on the PP that means Schultz most likely runs PP2 this year.

There is also Petry to consider, and then at evens you've got those 2 and probably Smid and the other Schultz ahead of him on the chart. If our coaching is smart (which is questionable sometimes) they ease him in this year with some 3rd pair time, and move him up when the seemingly invevitable injury bug hits.

All of which means no, he will not score 40 this year. But by Odin's beard it won't be long.

[goligodski]

not likely 40pts.
1)he's never played through the rigours of a full 82 game schedule so he's likely to come out hot at the beginning of the season but then his lack of conditioning past 40 games or so he will start to get tired and see a drop in the second half of the season. also conisder if it's a full season it will be condensed which is even more tiring.
2) whitney is the top pp option, schultz will be pp 2 until whitney gets hurt. so his top pp minutes will be sporadic as whitney comes and goes.