Jeff Schultz (born February 25, 1986) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He most recently played for the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). He was drafted by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in the first round, 27th overall, in 2004.

Playing career

Schultz was drafted by the

in the first round, 27th overall, in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout ...

as one of the Capitals' three first-round picks that year. Schultz spent four seasons ( 2002–03 to 2005–06) in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) with the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

. He played seven games in the 2005–06 playoffs for the Capitals' top minor league affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

, helping them capture the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

. Schultz made his NHL debut for the Capitals on December 22, 2006, against the New Jersey Devils. He played four games with Washington before being returned to Hershey. At the end of the season, Schultz had played in 38 games with the Capitals. Schultz was

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d "Mr. Nasty" by

Pierre McGuire Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a televis ...

early in 2010. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Schultz led the NHL in the plus-minus statistical category with a +50 rating, becoming the first Capital to do so. A record was set by Schultz in the

2011 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2011, after the conclusion of the 2010–11 NHL regular season. The first game of the Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins was held on June ...

in Washington's 4–2 loss to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. He was on the ice for a post-season record 119 consecutive minutes without being scored upon in the Stanley Cup playoffs, before Steve Downie of the Lightning scored a goal. On July 2, 2013, after two successive diminishing seasons on the Capitals, Schultz was given a

compliance buyout Compliance buyouts (sometimes referred to as amnesty buyouts) allow National Hockey League (NHL) teams to buy-out a player's contract by paying him two-thirds of the remaining value of a contract over twice the remaining length of the contract. If ...

of his final year of his contract with Washington, releasing him as an unrestricted free agent. On July 5, 2013, he was signed as a free agent by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

to a one-year deal. He was later placed on waivers by the Kings shortly prior to the regular season's commencement. After clearing waivers, he reported to the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. On December 3, Schultz was called up by the Kings, later being reassigned to Manchester on February 5, 2014; he did not make an appearance of Los Angeles during his two-month call-up. Schultz was then recalled by the Kings during the 2014 playoffs because of injuries to many of the Kings' defensemen, and he made his debut with the Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-finals against the Anaheim Ducks. He also made appearances during the 2014 Western Conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks, but did not play in any of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals series in which the Kings won. Schultz normally would not have been qualified to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup because he played neither the minimum number of regular season games nor any Stanley Cup Finals games. Despite this, the Kings requested a waiver from the NHL to have his name included due to his contributions during the playoffs; the request was approved, and his name is among the 52 people added to the Cup that year. On July 5, 2016, Schultz left the Kings organization as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He spent the duration of the 2016–17 season, with the Ducks AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, appearing in 65 games from the blueline in recording 15 assists. Despite the conclusion of his contract with the Ducks, Schultz opted to remain with the Gulls, signing a one-year AHL deal on July 26, 2017.

Personal life

Schultz has a younger brother,

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, who was selected 87th overall in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. Ian played in the AHL with the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

as a prospect with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

for parts of three seasons. Unlike Jeff, Ian is a forward and is known as a tough player with a reputation for fighting on the ice.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Jeff 1986 births Calgary Hitmen players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Hershey Bears players Living people Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Ontario Reign (AHL) players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Calgary Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players