Today, we take a look at another 2010 who is both an early star for the 2028 NHL Entry Draft class and a big name in the race for the top spot in the upcoming WHL Draft. In the dichotomy between him and Liam Pue, I think we see two players who have persuasive cases for their own reasons. They take over the game in similar areas but take different routes to get there. One thing I will say early in that conversation is this: I had TONS of fun watching Pue’s tape, but I might have enjoyed this player’s footage even more, and I am grateful that there is a bit of a surplus of it. I may find myself watching more of it just for enrichment’s sake. Without further ado, though, let us dive into this player’s story, stats, and style.

Maddox Schultz was born in Regina, Saskatchewan on March 15th, 2010. From the jump, he has been bound to the ice in various capacities. He was on skates for the first time at age two, played hockey for the first time at age four, and split his time between hockey and figure skating until he was eight. Committing to the sport solely has certainly paid dividends, as he has played some fantastic hockey against older competition in the pipeline of his hometown of Regina.

Schultz played U15 hockey as a 12-year-old for the Regina Pat Blues U15 AA in the 2022–23 season. He recorded 23 goals and 40 assists in 28 games played that season. Subsequently, he would run it back as a 13-year-old and have an incredible season wherein he registered 63 goals and a league-high 71 assists, additionally only trailing teammate Chase Surkan (currently an affiliate of the Brandon Wheat Kings) for the league-lead in points by 1. He did his best work in the postseason, as he racked up an absurd 12 goals and 20 assists across 9 games, with the Pat Blues winning the league championship. He also had his first look at the U18 level (with 2 points in 5 games) and was chosen for Blue Army U15 for the World Selects Invitational in Philadelphia, where he had 9 points in 6 games.

During this eventful year for Schultz, he applied for and received exceptional player status from Saskatchewan’s governing hockey body, allowing him to play full-time in U18 AAAs as a 14-year-old with the Regina Pat Canadians. At the time of writing, he leads the league in points with 71 across 36 games played. Having seen him play above his age and consistently rack up impressive results not just in his own league, but in invitational tournaments wherein he seemed like he was having just pure fun in the footage that I watched, it seems pretty clear to me that Schultz is ready for the next level. However, he will not be playing major junior hockey full-time next season, as, after some speculation, he has elected not to apply for exceptional player status for the WHL. Taylor Shire of the Regina Leader-Post explained the logic behind this decision and how it ties into different rule changes here, including a quote from Schultz himself on the choice. I can see his and others involved in the process’ angle. It seems to be a good compromise for him.

Now, how does Schultz do what he does? What makes him this dominant force that yielded all this speculation about ES and posted these phenomenal numbers?

As one would anticipate, skating factors into the picture greatly. The emphasis on edge work (which he notes in the first linked article on him that his father instilled) in him is evident. Phenomenal control and foot work help him in navigating the neutral zone in transition, as they do in exploiting space in the OZ, no matter how limited it is. He is able to turn on the jets fast, acceleration being a seemingly even better gift than his top speed (which is impressive in its own right), which helps him in gap control and being the first to a loose puck. He manipulates and contorts himself quite well when necessary, which makes his exploitation of space all the more extreme. He just looks like a natural in all aspects of movement.

This is all equally true of his puck skill, as well. What he can do with a first touch is amazing. He has both the ability and the vision to turn that touch into finding impossible, what feel like non-existent seams and plays that didn’t seem like they were there. His mechanical skill when it comes to dekes and dangles is quite impressive, and it is only complemented by his spacial awareness, anticipation, and just overall reads. From what I gleaned, his puck protection skill is impressive at this stage in his development, and I imagine he will become sturdier with time and physical development. It is not the name of his game currently, but it could be in the future. When it comes to his shooting ability, he can pick corners and find and utilize the smallest of holes created by the opposing netminder. As far as the release, it is smooth and seemingly not the most powerful (I’m not going to pretend for certain that I know just using my eyes while watching on a screen), but like so much of the rest of his game, it is deceptive. The puck ends up often having some decent movement on it, almost a knuckling effect at times, which is something I appreciate. He also has a knack for faceoffs irrespective of the situation. He can win you one in the DZ and help with the breakout, or he can set the table for you in the OZ. On the topic of his center role, I am somewhat interested in seeing what he would do as a full-time winger, especially if it were part of a team’s “outside-in” attacking strategy (see: The contemporary Dallas Stars, the Chicago Blackhawks dynasty, etc.), but he is also so useful for his speed down the middle that you really can’t have any qualms with keeping him there, either.

I won’t get into the debate about “Who’s better?” in the dichotomy between Schultz and Pue, as I do not believe in using this platform for pitting teenage amateurs against one another. What I will say is that they should both be coveted very highly for their own reasons. I think that Pue is a unique physical archetype with REALLY remarkable talent level for his size already while also being quite smart, almost like the Victoria Royals’ Keaton Verhoeff as a forward. There won’t be many of him. If I have to assess Schultz, I would say he’s more like the forward equivalent of the Erie Otters’ Matthew Schaefer – Kind of more fitting the archetype of what excellent players at his position will probably look like going forward, while appearing to be poised to be AT that level of excellence. Both players’ future WHL teams will be adding an amazing piece to their repertoire when they are drafted later on this calendar year. Likewise, one has to imagine they have tremendous NHL futures ahead of them beginning in three years, as well – But as I said about Pue and as Schultz himself indicates even so much about the WHL draft, we should cross each bridge individually and think about the journey, not the destination.