“It’s one of those stats where some guys say ‘it counts’ and others say it doesn’t mean anything’.  But to myself, whenever you can say that you’re a leader of a category in the NHL, it’s something to be proud of.  It’s one thing that I can look back on and say, ‘One year I led the NHL in a category’ and it’s something that I take pride in.”

This quote was given by the 2009-10 NHL plus/minus leader himself, Jeff Schultz, who now plays for the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League. While the debate over the “plus/minus” statistic’s relevance is a hot topic of debate among the hockey analytics crowd, Schultz didn’t reach this lofty total by accident. Schultz’ impressive plus 50 season came in the midst of a President’s Trophy winning campaign for the Washington Capitals. That dynamic Capitals team had strong goaltending, their skilled forwards scored at an incredible pace, and they greatly benefitted from a deep blue line in which Schultz was a key cog. His 19:52 of ice time per game was good for fifth most on the team and third among defensemen. At age 23, the 2009-10 season was a coming-out party for Schultz and that young Capitals team.

Before Schultz broke in to the NHL, he was a standout in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen. The Calgary native relished the chance to play in front of his hometown crowd. “That was probably the best part of playing with the Hitmen,” Schultz reflects. “Not leaving home and playing in front of family and friends every night made it that much more comfortable. We got to play in the Saddledome which was pretty cool. I look back fondly at the time I spent with my teammates in junior.”  

Schultz spent four impressive seasons with the Hitmen, skating alongside such future NHL stars as Andrew Ladd, Karl Alzner, and Ryan Getzlaf.  The Hitmen were able to develop into a competitive team over the course of Schultz’s four seasons, and the NHL pedigree present on those teams was huge in the development of Jeff’s game. “Being able to play with guys like Getzlaf and Ladd, and playing under good coaches like Dave Lowry and Kelly Kisio—a couple of former players who had experience in the NHL—they were huge and able to lead me in the right direction.”

A breakout offensive performance in his 2003-04 season (11 goals and 35 points with a plus 28) while maintaining a strong shutdown game garnered attention from NHL scouts. Standing tall at 6’6”, Schultz spent time modelling his game after another giant. “When I was younger I liked Chris Pronger’s style. I know I’m not as mean, but I liked him because he was my height. I’d watch what he’d do with his stick and body positioning and stuff like that.”

 Schultz would end up being selected in the first round, 27^th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. To this day, he still can’t believe how high he was drafted. “I didn’t think I’d go first round,” Schultz recalls. “You see the rankings and where you stand, but it doesn’t prepare you for draft time. The projections had me pegged for the second round, maybe late first round. I was hoping that they were right and fortunately Washington picked me. It was exciting because in that draft they had picked Alex Ovechkin first overall which meant I hopefully had a shot of playing with him. Fellow Calgarian Mike Green was also taken by Washington right after me. Two great NHLers in today’s game that I had a chance to be drafted with and play with.”

That 2004 draft can be pointed to when identifying the turning point in which the Capitals went from perennial bottom-feeders to perennial contenders. While it would take a couple of years for the young talent to eventually surface in the NHL, the seeds were planted for the promising young hockey club.

Schultz would get his first taste of professional hockey at the tail end of the 2005-06 season. The Hitmen had just been eliminated from the WHL playoffs and the Hershey Bears (Washington’s AHL affiliate) had started to bring in some Capitals’ prospects for seasoning en route to winning their ninth Calder Cup. “I packed my bags up for Hershey, not really knowing what to expect and certainly didn’t expect to get any playing time. I ended up rooming with Kris Beech for that two month run. Come the second round of the playoffs (the Bears) ran into some injuries, so I got into the lineup and played a few games. It was exciting, but also a tough time for a kid coming out of junior to play his first pro games. I think in the long-run it was a great experience for me. When I eventually made my NHL debut, I think those few playoff games with Hershey helped me to compete at a higher level.”

The next year, Schultz would spend his 2005-06 season splitting time with the Hershey Bears and the Washington Capitals. By age 20, Schultz got his first taste of NHL hockey, playing in 38 games for Washington that year. Almost a decade later, he looks back at that year and the main thing that stuck out for him was some of the names that he shared the ice with. “My first game was against New Jersey. So when you’re out there for warm up against a guy like Martin Brodeur in the opposing crease with other stars around him like (Patrick) Elias and (Scott) Gomez it can leave you kind of star struck. Playing against those guys made the experience especially memorable. I was able to play against Pittsburgh a few times in my rookie year, playing against (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin and it’s crazy just how good they still are today. It was always a lot of fun to match up against those guys.”

Over Schultz’s tenure with the Washington Capitals, the team was a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. In his seven seasons with Washington, the team would go on to make the playoffs six times, winning the Southeast Division five times and winning the Presidents trophy in 2009-10.  Schultz pins a lot of the success on the ability of Washington to develop their prospects. “I think it all started with the coaching staff down (in Hershey), led by Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods. The draft picks ended up following Bruce from Hershey to Washington, so when they were promoted they knew his style and his mannerisms around the rink. Success has followed Bruce from team to team.”

The 2013-14 season was one of big change for Schultz. He moved on from the Capitals, the only NHL team he had ever played for, to sign a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings.  He spent the bulk of his season with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Manchester, suiting up for 67 games with the Monarchs.  But come playoff time, the Kings’ blue line had suffered a couple of injuries. This gave Schultz the chance to play seven games of NHL playoff hockey on a Los Angeles Kings team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

“It was very unexpected to be called up. We were in our own playoff series in Manchester when the Kings called me. It was the middle of practice and they called me off of the ice to tell me that I was being called up due to some injuries. They were going into Game 7 of their series against the Sharks. So I was to meet the team in San Jose and go from there. I had to fly cross-country from Norfolk, Virginia. They ended up winning that Game 7 and advanced to the next round. I was just playing the role of the extra guy and didn’t think that I’d see the ice, but unfortunately Robyn Reghr went down in Game 1 of the next round against the Ducks. I was thrown in the next game, again not thinking I’d get any ice time. I was fortunate to get in a few games and help the Kings get to the next round.”

The following season, Schultz would help lead the Manchester Monarchs to win the Calder Cup, the second of his career. Winning seems to follow wherever he goes, and Schulz gives a lot of credit to the role models that have guided him to this point in his career.

 “I’d say starting back in junior, a guy like Dave Lowry was great for me. He was a long-time NHLer and the two of us really got along. He was a really smart player so he’d help me and pick up on the small things that I could work on. Moving on to the next level, Bruce Boudreau was a huge factor in getting me to the NHL and helping me stay there for a while. Then in Manchester and Ontario, Mike Stothers is just a real, likeable guy. I get along with him, but he expects the most out of everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a young guy or old, he’ll let you know when things aren’t going well but he’ll give you a pat on the back when you’re going good.”

As a free agent this summer, Schultz was looking for a new opportunity to make an impact. He considers himself fortunate that the Anaheim Ducks were so quick to lock him up to a new two-way contract. “It was early in the summer. After talking with my agent and my wife, we didn’t expect any offers until later in the offseason. So when Anaheim called and asked us if we were interested in the deal, we were a little surprised. At the time we thought ‘it’s a great organization and they’re both great places to play whether it’s in Anaheim or San Diego.’ Playing against them last year I know that they have a lot of good players and that they’re a quality organization up and down. It was a good fit.”

Now at 30 years old, Schultz is coming off a season in which he was voted by his peers as the “Best Defensive Defenseman” in the AHL’s Western Conference through the Professional Hockey Players’ Association Player Voted Awards program.  At this stage of his career, he is seen as a leader and locker room veteran who can aid in the development of the Ducks’ top prospects both on and off the ice. He has not only accepted the role, but fully embraces it.

“As I get older, the game has changed from the league that I was used to. Everybody’s fast and everyone can shoot the puck. At 30 years old and over 400 games of NHL experience, I’m trying to help these young guys get their foot in the door and help them get their feet wet in their pro careers. I’ve tried to take on a mentoring role and I’m open and honest when the guys come and ask me questions. Hopefully they can learn from the experiences that I’ve had. For myself, I just want to go out there and play hard every night. I want to be a good leader both on and off of the ice.”