Undrafted and with fifth NHL team,
Nate Schmidt becomes 38th Minnesotan to raise the Stanley Cup

by Bryan Zollman, Let’s Play Hockey

When Aleksander Barkov handed Nate Schmidt the Stanley Cup, Schmidt became the 38th Minnesota-born player to hoist a Stanley Cup and take a victory lap after the Florida Panthers won their second consecutive title with a 5-1 win over Edmonton Tuesday night in Florida. 

Barkov was the first player to hoist the Cup Tuesday night, and Schmidt was the second.

“I can’t even tell you what that lap is like when you have that thing,” Schmidt said in a TV interview following the game. “It’s just phenomenal, you know, the family and friends who stuck with you through everything. It’s just amazing. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

Schmidt said he had no idea Barkov was going to hand him the Cup.

“He looked right at me and I kind of froze,” Schmidt said. “I didn’t think he was coming for me. He said take your time and enjoy it. That’s the best lap I have ever done in hockey.”

Schmidt is a 2010 graduate of St. Cloud Cathedral where he helped lead the Crusaders to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009. In 2010 he played for the Fargo Force in the USHL.

Undrafted, he went on to play three seasons for the Minnesota Gophers. Although he played sparingly as a freshman, he emerged as a sophomore with a nation-leading 38 assists as a defenseman. After his third season with the Gophers he was signed to a two-year entry level contract by the Washington Capitals.

Schmidt played 13 games in the AHL for the Hershey Bears in 2012-13 and then was called up in the fall of 2013 after one game with the Bears, making his debut with the Washington Capitals on Oct. 12, 2013. He scored his first goal on Dec. 7, 2013 against Nashville.

Schmidt spent four seasons with the Capitals and was then snatched up by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 Expansion Draft. He signed a two-year, $4.45 million contract and was a member of the 2018 team that reached the Stanley Cup finals against his old team in Washington. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights, stripping Schmidt of a chance to win a Cup. He later signed a 6-year, $35.8 million extension with the Golden Knights.

He was traded in October 2020 to Vancouver for a third round pick in 2022. Less than a year later he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for another third-round pick in 2022. He played three seasons and 211 games for the Jets before they bought out the final year of his contract and he became an unrestricted free agent.

He was signed by Florida to a one-year deal for $800,000 last July.

This season, Schmidt played in 80 regular season games, scoring five goals and adding 14 assist and finishing a +4. He logged 16:32 worth of ice time during the season. In the playoffs he scored three goals and added nine assists and finished a +12.

Schmidt has played in 741 regular season games and has 52 goals and 187 assists and is a +106 in his career.

Schmidt is the first player born in St. Cloud to win the Stanley Cup.

Minnesotans who have their names inscribed on the Stanley Cup
(Source: Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

https://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/813688-minnesotans-inscribed-on-lord-stanley-s-cup-