Schmidt has emotional day at hockey camp after being taken by Las Vegas

Mick Hatten | SCTimes

Show Caption Hide Caption Nate Schmidt taken by Las Vegas in NHL expansion draft Former Cathedral and Gophers standout defenseman surprised by news that he is leaving Washington Capitals

Nate Schmidt has learned a life-changing event is about to happen whenever he works at the Minnesota Select 15 Summer Development Hockey Camp, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

In 2015, Schmidt signed a two-year contract extension with the NHL's Washington Capitals while he was working at the camp. Wednesday morning working at the camp, the Cathedral High School graduate found out that he was one of 30 players taken by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft.

"After practice, we were walking to go work out about 9, 9:30 in the morning and I get a call from my agent and I'm like, 'Nah, I'll call him back,' " Schmidt said. "Then I got another call and I thought, 'Yeah, I should actually take this.'

"He said the list was submitted and you were selected and you're going to Vegas and you can't say anything yet and you've got to keep it all under wraps all day, but everything got leaked out anyway."

The official announcement of the players selected by the expansion Golden Knights was Wednesday night during the NHL's annual postseason awards show at T-Mobile Arena, where Las Vegas will play its home games.

Schmidt said it was an odd day and tried to ignore the phone calls he got after talking to his agent — until he got a call from Las Vegas general manager George McPhee.

"It was actually kind of hard to work out yesterday because my mind was going in about 1,000 different directions," said Schmidt, a 6-foot, 195-pound defenseman who turns 26 in July. "My phone started buzzing while I was on the bench for our game yesterday and I finally looked and it was (McPhee). I thought, 'This is one I can't let go.'

"So I ran off the bench to take it."

Leaving Washington

While there was the positive feeling of being picked by Las Vegas, there was also leaving the lone pro franchise that Schmidt has played for.

"It's a bittersweet day because you're excited about moving on and a chance to play a bigger role with a brand new team, which is going to be a pretty good team," said Schmidt, who had been with Washington since 2013. "But the flip side is not being able to see your best buddies, guys that you grew up with in the minors and the friendships you made.

"Thankfully, I already have a buddy of mine already there in (Erik) Haula and it's easier knowing there's a guy on the team you already know," Schmidt said, referring to the former Gophers forward who was also picked by Las Vegas. "But it was tough talking to the (Capitals) guys yesterday. (Goalie Braden) Holtby called and said, 'You've got to tell me.' He's one of my best buddies on the team and he was bummed. No one thought it was going to happen."

Schmidt said that the rumors during the season were that Washington's other goalie, Phillip Grubauer, was going to be taken by Las Vegas.

"It was a difficult day and an overwhelming day with everything that happened," Schmidt said. "But it was also good because it's a team that wants you and I know George (McPhee), who signed me as a free agent out of college. He called me up and said, 'We're so excited to have you, so excited to see you were unprotected because you were one of the guys we really wanted."

McPhee was the general manager for the Washington Capitals for 17 years. Schmidt, who was a free agent during his three seasons playing for the University of Minnesota, said McPhee began having conversations about signing him after his sophomore year with the Gophers.

"He called me into his office when I was a sophomore at Minnesota and said, 'Schmidty, we want to sign you but I'm not going to let you (sign). I want you to back to school and then we'll talk again,'" Schmidt said of McPhee. "I thought that was pretty cool to say that to me at that age. A lot of GMs don't think about guys on a personal level."

Last season

His junior season, Schmidt was an All-American and signed with the Capitals after the season. Schmidt split the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons between the Capitals and the Hershey Bears, their American Hockey League team.

After signing his two-year deal, Schmidt had two goals and 16 points in 72 regular season games and then one assist in 10 playoff games in 2015-16. Last season, Schmidt had three goals and 17 points in 60 regular season games and Washington had the best record in the league.

The Capitals also made a deal at the trade deadline for defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, which cut into Schmidt's playing time. But Schmidt ended up playing in 11 of Washington's 13 playoff games and had a goal and four points.

"It was a year where a lot of things changed because I played the off side (defensively) and with Brooks Orpik and I'd never played with him," he said of his defensive partner. "The year really changed after the trade deadline and it's not personal.

"They went and got an Olympic defenseman in Kevin Shattenkirk and the season got flipped upside down for me. But then I played well in the big playoff games and I'm in a situation where another team wants you."

Even though Schmidt was taken by the Golden Knights, there remains a chance he will never play a game for them. He is a restricted free agent and Las Vegas took 13 defensemen in the draft.

"Hopefully, we can get something done and we've had some talks with them already," he said of his contract status. "George said that they've got the NHL Draft now and then we'll talk to you and some of the other guys we need to get signed for next year and we'll go from there.

"People always say that defensemen are a hot commodity now because the game is evolving and everyone needs puck-moving 'D' and guys who can skate and move. When I looked at (Las Vegas' roster), I thought, 'Wow, that's quite a few good defensemen. George said they're going to have to make some moves to shore up their forwards."

Schmidt has worked at the Select 15 camp for seven years, working his way up from a counselor after his freshman season of college to being a coach. He said he enjoys working the camp for a number of reasons and then made light of the big news that seems to happen when he is there.

"If I want my life to have big, altering events, I come here," he said with a laugh.

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