Akira Schmid (born 12 May 2000) is a Swiss professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

in the fifth round, 136th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Schmid played most of his youth and junior ice hockey in the

SCL Tigers The SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the sm ...

system, appearing in just one game at the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

level, a relegation match in 2018. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL entry draft at the end of the 2017–18 season, during which he was loaned multiple times from his junior team to professional teams within Switzerland. He moved to North America to start the 2018–19 season, playing three seasons in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) for the

Omaha Lancers The Omaha Lancers are a Junior ice hockey#Tier I, Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ra ...

and

Sioux City Musketeers The Sioux City Musketeers are a junior ice hockey team based in Sioux City, Iowa. The Musketeers play their home games at Tyson Events Center, and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team was fou ...

. On 17 May 2021, Schmid signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the

. Schmid made his

(NHL) debut on 11 December 2021, in a 4–2 loss to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. By making his debut with the Devils, Schmid made history in becoming the first goaltender to debut in the NHL directly from the USHL. During the 2022–23 season, on 10 November 2022, Schmid collected his first career NHL win with the Devils in a 4–3 overtime win against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. On 25 February 2023, Schmid recorded his first NHL shutout with the Devils in a 7–0 win against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. In first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Schmid started game three after starter Vítek Vaněček gave up nine goals in the first two games of the series. He went on to get the win in that game, and shutout the Rangers in games five and seven to secure the series victory for the Devils. On 29 June 2024, during the

2024 NHL entry draft The 2024 NHL entry draft was the 62nd NHL entry draft, entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 28–29, 2024, at Sphere (venue), Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. As per their April 2024 agreement, all draft rights held by ...

, Schmid and

Alexander Holtz Alexander Gabriel Holtz (born 23 January 2002) is a Swedish professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hocke ...

were traded to the

in exchange for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. As a restricted free agent, Schmid did not receive a qualifying offer from Vegas, and thus became an unrestricted free agent two days later; however, he ultimately signed a two-year contract with Vegas on 3 July. Since he was the third-string goaltender for Vegas behind Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov, Schmid was reassigned to the AHL's

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Lee ...

on 2 October. Following an injury to Samsonov, Schmid was recalled to the NHL on 2 November; he subsequently made his debut for Vegas on 11 November, entering a game against the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

in relief of Hill, and stopping all 12 shots faced. After another recall in March 2025 following a second Samsonov injury, Schmid made his first start for Vegas on 6 April, stopping 21 of 23 shots faced in a 3–2 overtime victory over the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

. Schmid later made his playoff debut for Vegas on 24 April, entering in relief of Hill again and stopping all nine shots faced in a 5–2 first-round game 3 loss to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

International play

Schmid represented

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a silver medal. In his first start of the event, a preliminary round match against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, he recorded a 15-save shutout.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league.

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, Akira 2000 births Living people Henderson Silver Knights players Ice hockey people from Bern Lethbridge Hurricanes players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Omaha Lancers players SCL Tigers players Sioux City Musketeers players Swiss ice hockey goaltenders Utica Comets players Vegas Golden Knights players