Some of the biggest names in hockey writing got together Sunday night for their annual fantasy auction draft.

The usual NHL stars were put up early and the bidding wars commenced. Some of the Blackhawks were already on rosters as keepers, but Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Artem Anisimov were among the free agents who were auctioned off early. Patrick Sharp drew some interest. Alex DeBrincat was intriguing enough for a handful of bids to come in.

Late into the night, Blackhawks second-year forward Nick Schmaltz was nominated for a minimum bid. Another person increased the bid by the minimum amount and then another bid was placed at another minimum increase. The auction clock ticked down, expired and Schmaltz had been awarded for a minuscule amount.

How that draft played out is probably similar to most drafts throughout the world. ESPN didn’t include Schmaltz in its top 300 fantasy players, The Hockey News had him at No. 163 and NHL.com had him No. 140. It is worth nothing The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn included Schmaltz among his potential fantasy breakouts a few weeks ago.

But here’s the thing: Schmaltz hasn’t played this preseason like someone who might just be worth the gamble in a fantasy draft. The 21-year-old Schmaltz has actually looked like someone who is on the cusp of becoming the Blackhawks’ next offensive star.

It’s a storyline few expected this preseason. Brandon Saad returned to the Blackhawks still young, but more experienced after two seasons in Columbus. Sharp was back healthy and motivated. DeBrincat arrived with all his hype. Toews is targeted by many to have an offensive resurgence.

Schmaltz was lumped in as one of the Blackhawks’ youngsters whom coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman noted they’d like to see take the next step from their rookie seasons. Few expected him to leap much, much further this season.

But he has.

Quenneville had the thought in the offseason to try Schmaltz on Kane’s line. He began as the left wing on that line the first day of camp and was recently given a shot at center. He hasn’t relinquished that position since, and Anisimov has been moved to the third line.

You can get an idea just how Schmaltz gradually began to impress Quenneville over camp through what he said about Schmaltz.

On Sept. 15, the first day of camp: “He had a nice day, smoothness, looks like he has a little jump added to his game, but to say he’ll be at center right off the bat, that could happen. I don’t see it potentially not happening, just wanted to see him with Kaner on the wing and [David Kampf] and wanted to see him in the middle with those two guys. But we’ll see Schmaltzy in the middle at some point, but I love the flexibility.”

On Sept. 17: “I think that he’s come in here and he’s had an excellent camp. The one thing that’s jumped out is his quickness and his speed. His playmaking or his play recognition and patience level with the puck – and he gets a little bit more patient with the puck playing with Kaner, too. So that enhances it. So, I think he’s really come in here with real good jump to his stride.”

On Sept. 23: “He’s been outstanding, the puck’s following him around, great speed, great patience. He seems to put the puck in the place where it relieves the puck pressure, gives time for wingers to be open and all of a sudden there’s high-end potions because of the speed. It’s been fun watching him, and it’s a great sign for him the way the whole preseason’s gone and his excitement going into the season.”

Oct. 3: “Schmaltzy’s one guy who kind of jumps out at us this camp of taking a gigantic step knowing that he’s looking more opportunity, getting the center positioning and getting the chance to play with Kaner. Looks like he could be an important guy to our team.”

(All of the videos included are from this preseason)

The demotion

Schmaltz shakes his head thinking back on how last season began for him.

A year has gone by, and he still can’t figure out what happened. It was as if someone else entered his body and took over the controls. He wasn’t himself. Every skill that made him a first-round draft pick, an elite college player and one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects had disappeared.

Schmaltz appeared timid with the puck. There was already some doubt whether he had made the right decision to leave North Dakota after his sophomore year. Eventually, Quenneville had seen enough of Schmaltz’s struggles, and it was decided organizationally Schmaltz would benefit from some time in the AHL. He needed to regain his confidence and rediscover his game.

No one who leaves the NHL lifestyle and paycheck behind is happy to be riding buses and playing three games in three days, but Schmaltz now knows it was best for him. Everything physically and mentally clicked back into place for him during the month he was with the Rockford IceHogs.

“I think just going down, getting my confidence back, playing with the puck a little bit more, making plays, seeing the puck, going to the net, all that little stuff helps your mind,” Schmaltz said. “I think sometimes you’re mentally down on yourself, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. That’s when you end up playing worse. When you just kind of let it flow and things are going way, that’s when you’re at your best. I think when I went down there I had a good mindset, just tried to get better down there. I thought it correlated pretty well back up here.”

First signs

Which of these players don’t seem like they belong?

The six players who averaged the most 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes over the final three-plus months of the season were Conor Sheary, Evgeni Malkin, Connor McDavid, Jason Pominville, Tyler Johnson and Nick Schmaltz.

Schmaltz’s first NHL stint, as previously explained, was disastrous. Known as an offensively skilled player, he produced four points in his first 26 games.

From Jan. 15, his first game back after being recalled, to the end of the regular season, Schmaltz produced. During that 35-game span, he was tied for 14th in the NHL with 22 points in 5-on-5 play, tied for sixth with 17 assists and fifth with 13 primary assists.

If you start from when Schmaltz was promoted to the top line with Toews and Richard Panik on Feb. 2 to the end of the season, he was 11th in the league with 19 5-on-5 points. Only Artemi Panarin and Kane had more points for the Blackhawks during that stretch.

All about the center

Schmaltz has never hid his feelings about wanting to play center.

Yes, he said all the right things about playing wing. And, yes, he would have accepted that role again this season. But center is where his heart has always been.

“I mean I think I feel comfortable wherever they put me,” Schmaltz said after last season. “I’m a natural center. I wouldn’t mind going to center.”

The obstacle between that desire and it actually happening was Schmaltz himself. When he played center last season, he wasn’t effective. He especially struggled in faceoffs, winning just 30.9 percent of them.

The Blackhawks can live with a center winning 43-45 percent. Andrew Shaw, Anisimov and others have hovered around that percentage in the last five years. But 30 percent is an extreme.

Schmaltz put some work into the area this offseason. That work, coupled with the NHL enforcing rules at the dot, has led to Schmaltz winning a lot more faceoffs. He won 22-of-43 faceoffs for a 51.2 winning percentage in the preseason.

“Just getting that timing down,” Schmaltz said. “I think that new rule kind of helps me a little bit. It’s more about the stick, not as much body and skates. I keep working on it. I keep talking to guys and picking little tips from Tazer, Yanic (Perreault, a Blackhawks coach), all those guys who are helping me out. Keep learning, getting better every day.”

Schmaltz’s improved faceoff percentage has kept him at center. What’s kept him as the second-line center is everything else.

Schmaltz made plays in all four of his preseason games. He held onto the puck and waited for opportunities to come for him and his teammates. He played off his teammates. He used his speed up the middle of the ice. He played like he’s played at every other level.

“I feel more comfortable,” Schmaltz said. “I feel like the game’s slowing down for me, just seeing plays. I know what I’m doing with the puck before I get it. It feels good and just trying to get better every day.”

His teammates have witnessed that same progression.

“He’s so relaxed with the puck out there,” Toews said. “He’s such a great skater. He’s getting more and more deceptive. You see a lot of little things he’s starting to do even that Kaner does. I think he’s picking up from Kaner that he’s good with keeping his feet moving with the puck and he’s got his heads up and he’s just got little faints and kind of little moves that backs defenders off and he’s buying himself some time and space. He’s a great playmaker and he’s a great shooter too, so it makes him very dangerous. Again, he’s another guy that’s it nice to see ready to go and is going to be another key player for us this year.”

Sharp said, “Great skater, effortless skater, doesn’t seem like he gets tired out there. Just watching him work with Kaner in the preseason so far, he’s good at center ice position. That speed is such a weapon when you play with him you just find a way to get it to him in his lane and he’ll skate into it. He’s a really young kid when you do the math. But it seems like he’s got that confidence about him that you also can’t teach. To have that at a young age is something that’s really valuable, I think.”

Kane’s different center

Most of the centers Patrick Kane has played with throughout his career have lacked one quality: speed.

Aside from a brief stretch with Sharp earlier in his career, Kane’s centers have mainly been Toews, Anisimov, Dave Bolland, Michal Handzus and Brad Richards. While Kane had success with all of them and they all complemented him in different ways, none of them would be described as speedsters.

“What makes Schmaltz high-end is he’s going to play with a guy that hasn’t played with that kind of speed before,” an NHL scout said. “If you look at Kane’s history, the centermen that’s he had, no one’s really known as a burner. This kid can flat out fly. There’s so many different ways that Kane can use that type of speed through the middle of the ice. He just hasn’t had it before.

“It’s an interesting proposition to have a guy with that kind of speed, game-breaking speed to be in the middle of the ice with a guy like Kane who can connect with anybody at any time on the ice. It’s really exciting to where he really can lead him into ice. It will give him opportunities to really showcase that speed really well.”

Quenneville also went into detail about how he believed Schmaltz’s speed could benefit Kane.

“Whether it backs up the defense off the rush or Kaner put it in areas for his speed to hit, I just think it gives us a different look whether it’s just not Kaner off the rush,” Quenneville said. “Those two guys could start reading off one another where there’s a little bit of not reliability, but familiarity with some plays and some tendencies. Yet another guy who could a net presence off the rush as well. He’s a threat not just by trying to stop Kaner, which is good.”

Kane had a similar thought. He and Schmaltz began working on their chemistry this offseason when Schmaltz, at Kane’s invitation, joined him at development coach Darryl Belfry’s camp in Florida.

“The thing I like about Schmaltzy is he’s got that speed through the middle of the ice where he’s backing off defenders,” Kane said. “And the points in the few scrimmages we’ve had, we’ve gotten five or six 2-on-1s just using his speed. It’s a weapon that can be utilized with him in the middle of the ice.”

Schmaltz has found it easy to play with Kane. Here’s a hint: It’s all about feeding Kane.

“I think he might just think the game at a higher end and I just try to use my speed through the middle and create space for him and try to get him the puck as much as I can,” Schmaltz said. “It’s a lot of fun and you get a lot of opportunities in the offensive zone when you play with him.”

Scouting reports

Three scouts weighed in on what they’ve seen from Schmaltz this preseason.

Scout 1: “Oh, absolutely he could be on the verge of becoming a star. Every level he’s advanced to he’s taken off his second year there. Second year of USHL, NCAA he became much more dangerous that second season. He had a mini-version of that post-demotion last season and you’re seeing it in full force right now. I’ve been on the Schmaltz train since the Blackhawks drafted him. I’ve watched him since he was 15 or 16. Just wait ’til he actually starts shooting more and getting a little more selfish.”

Scout 2: “I’ve been impressed with his skating and confidence. We all know he has the skill set, but his confidence is so high everything is really shining brightly right now. He looks really good.”

Scout 3: “When you’re first coming into the NHL, you’re usually emptying your tool kit and sometimes leaving things behind as you’re trying to establish yourself. Now you’ll get to see what his capacity really is and put him in different situations where he can open some of it up. Bury the pressure and maximize who he is. I suspect while there’s some excitement behind Schmaltz and Kane playing together this is just the beginning. Kane’s going to figure out how he can use him.

“With Panarin, the biggest thing was Panarin loves to play 1-on-1. Kane had to adapt to allow him to play that 1-on-1 and trust that he could just slide into space and they’d be able to find each other. You didn’t have to over-support him because Kane trusted how good he was 1-on-1, 1-on-2 and he could make plays from one side of the ice to the other. What adjustments does he have to make? He’s probably going to have to support the puck more, differently. He’ll have to figure out what assets Schmaltz has, how to utilize them. He might have to go in different places to get pucks. He’ll also see if Schmaltz can adjust and adapt, how talented he is. Can he adjust to fit Kane? How much give does he have? There are things to pay attention to.”

Schmaltz’s potential

The question now: What is Schmaltz really capable of this season?

If you take his second stint with the Blackhawks last season and play it across 82 games, he’d be around 56 points. Add the fact he’s playing with Kane and has a spot on the second power play unit, and you probably increase that to more than 60 points.

One scout predicted, “If he plays all 82, I think he can be in the 50-60 point range.”

In reality for the Blackhawks or in fantasy for your hockey team, that kind of production is something to get excited about.

(Top photo: Dennis Wierzbicki/USA TODAY Sports)