Introduction
Akira Schmid (born 12 May 2000) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender forthe New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Devils in the fifth round, 136th overall, in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Schmid played most of his youth and junior hockey in the SCL Tigers system. 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 (USHL) for the Omaha Lancers and Sioux City Musketeers.
On 17 May 2021, Schmid signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils. Schmid made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on 11 December 2021, in a 4–2 loss to the New York Islanders. By making his debut with the Devils, Schmid made history in becoming the first goaltender to debut in the NHL directly from the USHL.
In 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. On 25 February 2023, Schmid recorded his first NHL shutout with the Devils in a 7–0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. 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.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2016–17 | SCL Tigers | Elite Jr. A | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 8 | 0 | 3.97 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | SCL Tigers | Elite Jr. A | 32 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 1,867 | 81 | 2 | 2.60 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 238 | 12 | 0 | 3.02 | — | ||
| 2017–18 | EHC Thun | MSL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 244 | 9 | 0 | 2.21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 7 | 0 | 7.43 | .741 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Corpus Christi IceRays | NAHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | .948 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 37 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 2,012 | 73 | 2 | 2.18 | .926 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 359 | 18 | 0 | 3.01 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 405 | 23 | 1 | 3.41 | .888 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 36 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 2,147 | 72 | 3 | 2.01 | .921 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 237 | 9 | 1 | 2.28 | .920 | ||
| 2021–22 | Utica Comets | AHL | 38 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 2,167 | 94 | 2 | 2.60 | .911 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 3.89 | .895 | ||
| 2021–22 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 236 | 19 | 0 | 4.83 | .833 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Utica Comets | AHL | 23 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1,349 | 59 | 2 | 2.62 | .905 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 18 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 902 | 32 | 1 | 2.13 | .922 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 460 | 18 | 2 | 2.35 | .921 | ||
| NHL totals | 24 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1,138 | 51 | 1 | 2.69 | .902 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 460 | 18 | 2 | 2.35 | .921 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Switzerland | U18 | 8th | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 153 | 9 | 0 | 3.52 | .902 | |
| 2017 | Switzerland | IH18 | 7th | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 153 | 5 | 0 | 1.96 | .930 | |
| 2018 | Switzerland | U18 | 9th | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | .865 | |
| 2019 | Switzerland | WJC | 4th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 170 | 12 | 0 | 4.23 | .878 | |
| Junior totals | 11 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 596 | 39 | 0 | 3.92 | .892 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| Third All-Star Team | 2019 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2021 | |
| Goaltender of the Year | 2021 | |