87 TOTW Justin Schultz Review

I realized today I hadn't posted any reviews yet this year and that just won't do. After seeing the post about "new Staal" yesterday regarding Schultz having some ridiculous stats for his rating I had to pick him up.

Stats during his time on my squad, all in D1: GP = 12 G = 6 A = 6 PTS = 12 +/- = +12

Skating = 9.5/10 - Schultz is incredibly fast. With TW active he has 95 accelerating and 96 speed. Couple that with stellar stats in balance, endurance and agility and you have an absolute workhorse defenseman that can get from one end of the ice to the other in no time. His very first shift he took the puck, snuck through his own forwards that my opponents forwards were covering and completely blew past his defence for a quick backhand tuck. If you do find yourself up in your opponents end, he'll be able to keep up with just about everyone to get back in his rightful place on D.

Shooting = 9/10 - Schultz has a rocket of a shot. He replaced Weber who had a good shot of his own and Justin is able to fit that slot offensively without any issue at all. Slapper or wrister, it really doesn't matter. With his impressive skating ability and agility he's able to elude pokes and stick lifts while buying his teammates time to get into position in front of the net. Just about every one of his assists have come from tips in front of the net and he seems to have a knack for finding his teammates sticks for those quick redirections.

Hands = 9/10 - When you have a 90 overall rating on your card for hands you kind of expect to be able to wheel and deal the puck with the best of them, and Schultz delivers. His passes are super crisp and I can't honestly recall a single instance of him missing his target. His deking ability isn't anything to go nuts over but it's more than sufficient for an offensive defenseman like him. One thing to note is he seems to have a really solid ability of retaining possession of the puck under pressure and I can only remember one time where he got stripped clean with a well time stick lift.

Checking = 6.5/10 - Simply put, you don't buy a guy like Schultz for his hitting ability. He isn't going to be flattening anyone other than a guy like Marner. One thing that boosts his rating a bit is his ability to avoid checks though. He hasn't gotten his bell rung yet in the dozen games I've used him in and he's done a great job of getting himself out of sticky situations in which there was potential for him to get lit up.

Defence = 8.5/10 - Schultz has been more than serviceable for me on my 3rd defensive pairing. He's only taken 2 penalties in his time on the team and his poke check and stick lift never makes me fear a penalty considering his 99 overall discipline rating. This allows me to play a bit more aggressive with him and, coupled with his speed, I've forced numerous turnovers by making my opponent panic. A +/- of +12 doesn't lie, this guy isn't a liability whatsoever in his own end.

Overall, considering I don't really care about his lower checking performance, I'd rate him a 9/10 and you could argue he's a 9.5/10 when taking into account his value for the coin he's going for. Just like we saw with 88 overall Staal, I'd imagine Schultz's price will rise as more and more people realize what a stud this guy is considering his rating. He's a card in which the face card stats 100% lie, this guy is an absolute beast!