Jesse Schultz (born September 28, 1982) is a former

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

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 ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, who most recently played under contract with the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Playing career

Junior

Schultz spent four seasons of junior hockey in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

, starting in the 1999–2000 season with the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are an American major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League and based in Kennewick, Washington. Founded in 1966 as the Calgary Buffaloes, the team settled in Kennewick in 1988 after a number of re ...

. He would be dealt to the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1971 as a member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Raiders have been members of the Western Hockey League since 198 ...

midway through the 2000–01 season, where he played well, scoring 32 points in 35 games for the Raiders. However, it wasn't enough to get him selected in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, as he was passed over in his first year of eligibility. Schultz was traded to the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

for the 2001–02 season, and posted solid totals of 28 goals and 64 points. However, he was passed over again in the NHL draft as scouts deemed him too small and too slow for the pro game. However, a 53-goal, 104-point performance in 2002–03 would earn him a free-agent contract from the

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

on July 31, 2003.

Professional

Schultz turned pro in 2003 but failed to make the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

, the Canucks' primary farm team. Instead, he suited up for the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Colum ...

, scoring 27 goals in 52 games. In 2004–05, Schultz did manage to stick in Manitoba, posting 9 goals and 24 points in 70 AHL games. The 2005–06 season was a turning point for Schultz. After a disappointing first two professional seasons and in the last year of his contract with the Canucks, his pro future looked uncertain. However, he would have a standout year, leading the Moose with 37 goals and 67 points, and re-established himself as a player with NHL potential. Heading into the

2006–07 NHL season The 2006–07 NHL season was the 90th season of operation (89th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the season. The 2007 Stanley Cup pla ...

, Schultz was considered a favourite to crack the Canucks' roster following the departure of several veteran forwards. Adding to his chances, he was a favourite of head coach

Alain Vigneault Alain Vigneault (born May 14, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach. Vigneault has previously coached the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers for 19 seasons in the NHL, as well as ...

, who had been promoted to Vancouver after coaching the Moose the previous season. However, Schultz had an extremely disappointing training camp and was returned to the AHL. Schultz was recalled to the Canucks after a solid start in Manitoba and made his NHL debut on November 29, 2006 against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. On July 23, 2007, Schultz was traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

for Jim Sharrow. He would not play a game with the Thrashers in the 2007–08 season, instead playing with their affiliate the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

, where he would help them win the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). 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 it ...

. On July 6, 2008, Schultz signed with 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 ...

on a one-year contract and was later assigned to affiliate the Houston Aeros. During the following season in 2009–10, Schultz joined the

Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

on January 6, 2010 for the remainder of the year. On June 23, 2015, Schultz returned to Europe in signing a one-year contract with German club, SC Riessersee of the DEL2. In the summer of 2016, Schultz moved to the UK to sign for the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...

but he left the club in late December 2016. On September 29, 2017, after beginning his third successive season in Europe with

HC Nové Zámky HC Nové Zámky is a professional ice hockey team playing in the Tipos Extraliga, the top level of ice hockey in the country. They play in the city of Nové Zámky, Slovakia at Nové Zámky Ice Stadium. The team is nicknamed ''Býci'', meaning " ...

of the

Slovak Extraliga The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams fro ...

, Schultz returned to North America after five games in signing an ECHL contract with the

. He played three seasons with the Cyclones, winning the

ECHL Most Valuable Player The ECHL Most Valuable Player is an ice hockey award presented annually by the ECHL to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team. This award was first presented following the inaugural 1988–89 ECHL season to Daryl Harpe of the Erie ...

and

ECHL Leading Scorer Award The ECHL Leading Scorer Award goes to the ECHL player "who leads the league in scoring at the end of the regular season" and has been awarded since 1989. The award is not named after any individual and has four repeat winners as of 2024: Phil Berg ...

in the 2018–19 season. In 2021, he signed with the ECHL's

Greenville Swamp Rabbits The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gr ...

. With the Cyclones returning to play for the 2021–22 season, Schultz returned to the club agreeing to a one-year contract on July 14, 2021.

Personal life

Schultz's cousin,

Nick Nick may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nick (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Désirée Nick, German actress and writer Places * Nick, Hungary, a village * Nick, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, a ...

grew up in the same hometown and is also a professional ice hockey player.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Jesse 1982 births Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Hungary Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Greenville Swamp Rabbits players HC Nové Zámky players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan IF Björklöven players Kelowna Rockets players Living people Manitoba Moose players Nürnberg Ice Tigers players Prince Albert Raiders players Rapid City Rush players SC Riessersee players SG Cortina players Sheffield Steelers players Tri-City Americans players Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen