Today, the Chicago Blackhawks assigned Nick Schmaltz to their AHL affiliate the Rockford IceHogs in a move to bring up goaltender Lars Johansson due to the Corey Crawford appendectomy.
It has been a challenge this year for a lot of the young Blackhawks to adjust to the NHL lifestyle, and Schmaltz seemed to struggle with it the most. Playing in 26 games, Schmaltz scored one goal and added three assists as he never found his role in the lineup.
Before the season started, Schmaltz was coming off a college national championship with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.