WASHINGTON D.C. -- On Super Bowl Sunday, Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Nate Schmidt found himself in a familiar, yet unfamiliar, setting: on the visitor’s bench of Capital One Arena, squaring off against the very team he spent his entire career with prior to this year.
Still, despite wearing a visiting Golden Knights sweater, the 26-year-old remains a fan favourite, evidenced by the “Nate the Great” signs along the boards, hooting from Capitals fans and finally, a huge ovation as he appeared on the jumbotron.
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“It really feels pretty special to have that support even after you’re gone,” Schmidt said after the Golden Knights rallied past the Caps, 4-3. “It was really cool, a really special moment for me to be here.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t received one yet.” —Nate Schmidt on if he’s received a Welcome Home Nate Schmidt sign.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 4, 2018
CC: @russianmachine pic.twitter.com/AybZmmHGe1
Selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Schmidt became one of 30 different players leaving their respective clubs to transition to a team that was not only new to them, but new to the entire league.
“The funny thing is that everyone’s pretty much in the same boat,” Schmidt said of the transition. “It was really nice to have everybody going through it at the same time. It’s not just one, two, three guys that are kind of trying to assimilate to a new team, it’s everybody.”
In its inaugural season, Vegas is rewriting history. Not only did the Golden Knights break the record for most wins by a first-year expansion team, but they sit atop the Western Conference with a 35-13-4 record. Though the Golden Knights speed and resilience has gotten them far, Schmidt believes that the team found its chemistry by simply having fun.
“Everything’s so brand new and you have so much fun with the guys that you’re just trying to go out and have some fun. And that’s what we’ve been doing this year,” Schmidt said. “There’s no expectations on our team. The expectations came within this locker room, within each guy. When you play with some confidence in each other and play with no pressure, it gets easy. That’s the right combination to go out and play with.”
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In 52 games, so far, this season, Schmidt already established career-highs with four goals, 19 assists and 23 points. He finds himself playing on the Knights’ top defensive pairing, a role that pitted him against Alex Ovechkin Sunday.
“He’s a special guy. I played against him in practice all the time, I should know a few tricks from him,” Schmidt laughed. “It was a good return, especially playing against him.”
Ex-Cap Nate Schmidt said he saw a few former teammates last night. "Most of the D men, some goalies."
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) February 4, 2018
I asked if any of them offered to cut his hair:
"I can't confirm or deny that, but yes."
Though it was his second time facing Washington this season, Schmidt admitted that returning to his former home arena was confusing at times. For the start of the second period, he began stretching on the wrong side of the ice. He also mentioned that he and former teammate Tom Wilson “had a few choice words for each other” during the game, but assured that was just part of hockey.
“It’s all gamesmanship, all a part of it, right? He and I, we pretty much grew up together here. Our careers grew up together here,” Schmidt said. “It’s always fun like I said… it was fun to me.”
After an emotional return to D.C. for Schmidt, it’ll be Marc-Andre Fleury’s turn Tuesday, when the veteran goalie returns to Pittsburgh for the first time as a visitor. He started his NHL career with the Penguins as the first overall selection in the 2003 draft, and spent 13 seasons with the team, helping them win three Stanley Cup championships.
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Thanks to his experience in Washington, Schmidt offered simple advice for the 33-year-old netminder.
“Enjoy the moment,” Schmidt said. “It’s the reason we play these games. With how much he’s been through there, with everything he’s been through, I think you just gotta enjoy it, sit back, take a deep breath and just kinda soak it all in, because that’s a special part to this game that you’ll look back on and really cherish.”
Though Schmidt joked that Fleury’s return to Pittsburgh will be “about 50 times bigger” than his return to Washington, it was certainly a game he’ll never forget.
“Honestly, it was pretty incredible,” Schmidt said. “More than I expected. But it was really special. I really enjoyed it.”