Justin Schultz off to great start in first professional season

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz is getting some valuable experience in the American Hockey League, and he's off to a fantastic start.

By Adam Gretz

Oct 23, 2012 at 2:30 pm ET • 3 min read

It's not something hockey fans want to hear, but there are some players and teams benefiting, at least a little bit, from the ongoing NHL lockout.

One such player: Edmonton Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz.

You might remember Schultz from this past summer when he was one of the most sought after free agents despite having never played a game at a level higher than the NCAA.

Originally a second-round draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks back in the second round of the 2008 draft, Schultz never came to an agreement with the team and was eligible to sign with the club of his choice in free agency (similar to the situation that resulted in Blake Wheeler joining the Boston Bruins a few years ago).

After a rather public free-agent courtship, Schultz, an extremely talented offensive-defenseman, eventually agreed to an entry-level deal with the Oilers and joined a roster that already had young stars like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and their most recent No. 1 overall pick, Nail Yakupov. Playing for a team that was (and still is) lacking anything that resembled a top-caliber NHL defenseman, Schultz was probably going to be asked to play a significant role for the Oilers right from the start. And that's a lot to ask for a rookie defenseman.

But because the NHL is into the second month of its latest lockout (with no end in sight), Schultz has had an opportunity to start his career in the American Hockey League with the Oilers affiliate in Oklahoma City. This is at least allowing him to get his first taste of professional hockey and go through that development without having to be thrown to the wolves in the NHL where the learning curve would be significantly steeper, especially for a puck-moving defenseman.

And so far, he's off to a pretty dominant start in the AHL.

Consider two notes from CBC's Elliotte Friedman in his most recent 30 Thoughts column. During a 5-2 win on Friday night Schultz was a plus-10 in terms of scoring chances for and against according head coach Todd Nelson and the Barons' own internal numbers (they track player plus-minus when it comes to scoring chances). That number is apparently unheard of not only for a defender, but any player regardless of position (Nelson said a skilled forward is usually plus-4 or 5).