St. Louis Blues Recall Jordan Schmaltz from AHL Chicago Wolves

The St. Louis Blues’ replacement for Kevin Shattenkirk has arrived.

After three seasons at the University of North Dakota and the better part of two seasons in the AHL, 2012 first-rounder Jordan Schmaltz is finally set to make his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues recalled 23-year-old defenseman from the AHL Chicago Wolves on Wednesday, two days after trading defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals.

Schmaltz has had two previous stints with the NHL club, coming up for a week last February and then again during the postseason after the Wolves’ season concluded, but he has yet to play in an NHL game. It’s possible that he could get the opportunity to do so as soon as Friday, when the Blues travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets.

While he may have to battle with Robert Bortuzzo and Carl Gunnarsson for playing time out of the gates, Schmaltz is expected to be the Blues’ long-term replacement for Shattenkirk. The 6-foot-2, 192-pounder is a speedy puck-moving defenseman who has the potential to be a big contributor on the power play. He leads Wolves defensemen with 22 assists this season and has a total of 25 points in 42 games. Schmaltz, who missed the first month of the season with an injury, has a plus-4 rating and 22 penalty minutes this season.

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If the Blues advance to the playoffs, Schmaltz could have the opportunity to face his brother and longtime teammate, Nick, who is in his first season with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 43 games this year, Nick Schmaltz has six goals and 11 assists, and he’s recently been one of their top contributors while playing on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik.