GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Need a crafty forward who can get to the net and score a key goal? Senior forward Jake Schmaltz is your guy.
 
Looking at a critical defensive zone faceoff with a one-goal lead that you have to have? Look no further than Jake Schmaltz.
 
How about a gritty forward who can shut down the most dynamic lines in the sport? Jake Schmaltz does that too.
 
Following his cousins’ long line of excellence with North Dakota hockey, Jake Schmaltz’s ability to fill whatever role the Fighting Hawks need has produced two Penrose Cups in his first three seasons in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). For Jake, his ties to North Dakota go back to his childhood.
 
“I grew up on North Dakota,” Jake said. “My dad played football at North Dakota, my mom went here, my two uncles also played football here. I grew up visiting North Dakota and going to camps, so it was always part of my life. When they showed interest in me as a 16-year-old, I was just praying they would let me play here.”

 

The son of Marc, a former football student-athlete at North Dakota, Jake latched onto the Green and White from early childhood. Hailing from McFarland, Wisconsin, the Schmaltz family were regular attendees of Badger hockey games in nearby Madison, but would never miss a game when North Dakota came to town for a classic WCHA rivalry series.
 
“Grand Forks is a special place, and it remains a part of you even after you leave,” Marc said. “After my brothers and I had our kids, North Dakota was in the same hockey conference as Wisconsin. We never missed a game when North Dakota came to town. We’d show up in all our green, dress the kids up in their attire. So they cheered for UND because we were. When Jordan and Nick started playing there, we visited a lot and Jake just fell in love with the place like we all did.”
 
Living a half hour drive away in Verona, Wis. were older cousins Jordan (1993 birth year), Nick (1996) and Kylie (1998). The trio introduced Jake (2001), who is an only child, to a sibling dynamic over the years. As the self-described runt of the bunch, Jake took his lumps keeping up in their various games.
 
“We took Jake in as a younger brother,” Jordan said. “As the oldest of three, I felt it was my job to instill some competitiveness to my siblings and Jake. We had a hockey room in our basement and lived relatively close to each other. We gave him that older sibling approach as to not treat him any different. I actually think our sister, Kylie, probably treated him the hardest since she had two older brothers and we weren’t easy on her. We instilled some sandpaper on him. Even as a cousin, we felt he was an added sibling to our crew.”
 
“It was good for Jake to be pushed competitively by older family members. Ultimately it made him stronger and he grew his work ethic from there,” Nick said. “He works harder than a lot of people I’ve seen and he can keep going based on the fact that he’s willing to do things that other players aren’t. He does all the little things right like winning big faceoffs and blocking shots, which add up to being a successful team.”
 

Coming from a family of North Dakota athletes, Grand Forks was always on the radar for the Schmaltzes. However, with Wisconsin right in their back yard, Jordan initially committed to the Badgers before ultimately donning a UND jersey on the ice. Jordan’s dynamic play on the blue line helped North Dakota reach back-to-back Frozen Fours in 2014 and 2015, the latter of which came with Nick as a teammate. Nick managed to one-up Jordan on the scales as a top-line forward the next year by helping deliver the Fighting Hawks their first national championship in 16 years. The brothers both logged time in the NHL, with Nick currently playing for the Utah Hockey Club.
 
With Jake stepping onto campus six years following his cousins’ exploits, it was time to forge his own chapter in North Dakota history. A seventh-round selection by the Boston Bruins in 2019, injuries opened up an opportunity for Jake to shine in his freshman campaign, including prime power play minutes. Schmaltz thrived and finished fourth on the squad with 24 points while his eight goals tied for the team freshman lead. He was also reliable as a center, winning 52 percent of his faceoffs and a total of 274 draws to help UND claim the Penrose Cup as 2021-22 regular season NCHC champions.
 
“My first year I was a half-wall guy on the power play and got put in a lot of different situations,” Jake said. “I stepped into a bigger role that I wasn’t expecting, but knew I was ready for. I tried to make the most of my opportunity.”
 
After putting up a point total comparable to his cousin Nick’s (26 points as a freshman in 2014-15), Jake’s role shifted based on North Dakota’s needs. Over the next two seasons, he was deployed in more defensive situations, lining up against the other team’s top line every night. As a sophomore, he ranked 16th nationally with 397 faceoff wins. After the team missed the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Schmaltz’s defensive prowess shined in a big way during his junior campaign as the Fighting Hawks finished second in the NCHC (15th nationally) in scoring defense to claim their second Penrose Cup in three years.

 

With a prime seat on the North Dakota bench since the 2012-13 season, head coach Brad Berry has coached all three Schmaltzes. Beyond plenty of hardware to fill UND’s trophy case, Berry sees a few other things Jake consistently brings to the table like his cousins before him.
 
“All three are athletes through and through,” Berry said. “Their parents were great football players here and it transferred to their kids on the ice. They are all elite hockey players, but they’re outstanding people as well. Each one was different, Jordan was very skilled and had great feet on defense. Nick was a first round pick as well and playing great with Utah. He could create offense and get pucks back while playing a relentless style. When we had Jordan and Nick, Jake would hang around the weight room and had excitement in his eyes at the prospect of playing here.
 
“We identified him as a young player who could grow his game. We recruited him because he was a really good player, he lived and breathed North Dakota every day of his life and it showed in his desire to follow in his family’s footsteps. He’s had a taste of all kinds of roles here. He’s a team-first player, just like his parents and cousins. Even in his junior year when he didn’t score a lot, he was doing all the right things. He made it a point of emphasis entering his senior year to enhance and build his body in terms of strength and nutrition, and it’s helping him on the ice.”
 
Jake’s impact at UND extends beyond his on-ice exploits into everything else he does in Grand Forks. A three-time NCHC All-Academic Team and Distinguished Scholar Athlete selection, Schmaltz is a prime example of how to balance the workload of a student-athlete. Additionally, his ability to speak up in the locker room made him a natural choice among his peers to be an assistant captain since the 2023-24 campaign.
 
“His leadership role has obviously increased as we’ve gone on,” said junior defenseman Dane Montgomery, who also now dons an ‘A.’ “Even as a freshman he was one of the go-to guys right away. He does everything for us and plays a lot of minutes, all while being a great leader in the locker room. He does a great job of leading the group every day in practice. He always has a big smile on his face, and he’s the same when we are just hanging out away from the rink.”
 
After suffering a home sweep to defending national champion Denver in their Nov. 15-16 series earlier this season, the Fighting Hawks held a 5-6 record while allowing 3.09 goals per game. With North Dakota relying heavily on their underclassmen (five of its top six scorers are freshmen or sophomores), Schmaltz’s knack for saying what needs to be said in the locker room is paramount as UND shakes off a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign.
 

The messaging has taken hold since, as the Fighting Hawks closed the first half on a 6-1-1 spurt and allowed just 17 goals (2.13 per game) in that span. That stretch included a sweep of 10th-ranked St. Cloud State that sent North Dakota into the break on a high note, with Schmaltz netting the sweep-clinching goal in overtime.
 
“Whatever situation I am asked to fill, I feel I have already experienced it. That gives me a lot of confidence that when I get out there I can let loose and enjoy it,” Schmaltz said. “We have a good team this year and have had young guys step up in place of injuries. We want to be hard to play against and leave it all out there. I want to play hard for North Dakota and have no regrets at the end of the year and I know the rest of the team feels the same way.”
 
Consistency and trust are required for effective leadership, and Schmaltz practices what he preaches on that front on and off the ice. In addition to excelling in the classroom, Jake’s effort in the weight room and demeanor away from the rink is why his words carry sway with his teammates.
 
“Jake’s one of those guys who is always at the rink with a smile on his face and does everything the right way,” fifth-year senior captain Louis Jamernik V said. “He’s so consistent about everything that he does. The biggest word that comes to mind with him is reliable. Coaches know if we need to win a draw, he’ll do it. You know he’ll make the right play chipping the puck out of our end, maintaining possession in the neutral zone, and getting the puck to the net.
 
“He’s a captain and very vocal in the dressing room. The most important part of being a leader is not just saying stuff, but doing it yourself and he does exactly what he preaches.”
 
Even as Schmaltz honors his family history with North Dakota, his versatility is helping him write his own story in the hockey program’s annals. While UND has won two regular-season conference titles in Schmaltz’s first three years, it has yet to get past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, something Jake hopes to change in pursuit of the Fighting Hawks’ ninth national title.
 
“Winning the regular season championships is great, but getting to the Frozen Four and winning a national championship is the ultimate goal,” Jake said. “It was cool to see Jordan and Nick accomplish that, where I could watch it and be part of the ride. North Dakota is awesome and it’s expected when you come here that you’ll win games and compete for championships. That’s the pressure that comes with this place, and that’s what makes it great.”
 
Schmaltz and the 14th-ranked Fighting Hawks head to Tempe, Arizona for their first meeting with No. 15/16 Arizona State as NCHC foes this weekend. Friday night’s top-20 series opener begins at 9:06 p.m. CT and is televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Fans can then catch Saturday’s 6 p.m. CT start on NCHC.tv.