Prospect Update: My Number Three

My number three top prospect for the Anaheim Ducks is the big defenseman from the University of Wisconsin Justin Schultz. I’m probably a lot higher on him than most scouts but I don’t know, I just really like him.

Schultz is 21 years old and is a Junior at the University of Wisconsin. He is from West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. I would hope you would know that British Columbia is a province of Canada, but gotta put that in there for the non-intelligent ones. He is listed by UW at 6’2″ and 185 lbs. The Ducks drafted him in the second round, 43rd overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft.

The 2010-2011 Hobey Baker Award Finalist is like the rest of the Ducks top young defenseman in that he is also an offensive defenseman. He works the point on the power play with his good puck moving skills. He makes smart decisions with the puck in the offensive zone and on the breakout. He has great hockey sense for when to pinch in in the offensive zone and when to join a rush or not to create 3-on-2 type situations. His shot is not overly powerful or quick, but he knows what to do with it. His speed, agility and vision helps him with his good skill with the puck. He has been getting better and better over his 2 years at Wisconsin, which has produced some notable offensive defenseman.

Schultz has the potential to be a top four defenseman in the NHL. He can be a strong asset on the power play, quarterbacking on the blue line. With some other defenseman in the system, I think the Ducks in a few years could have a great power play with the real good offensive defenseman on the roster now and within the system.

Sorry, but this post is a few days late and I’m pretty busy the next few days, so once again my Prospect Update series will be extended a little longer. Hopefully, I can get my second to last part posted early next week. A quick hint about my number two prospect is he’s already spent a decent amount of time with the Ducks this season, and he’s a forward.

Career Stats – Regular Season:

2009-2010: University of Wisconsin – NCAA: 43 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 P, 12 PIM

2010-2011: University of Wisconsin – NCAA: 41 GP, 18 G, 29 A, 47 P, 28 PIM

2011-2012: University of Wisconsin – NCAA: 18 GP, 9 G, 19 A, 28 P, 8 PIM

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