After being selected by the Florida Panthers in the sixth round (170th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Justin Schutz spent most of the 2018-19 season with EC Salzburg II of the Alps Hockey League, where he scored 12 goals and picked up 16 helpers in 25 games.
After appearing in three games for Red Bull Munich last year, the 19-year-old Schutz graduated full time to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the top level of German professional hockey this season.
In 42 DEL games, Schutz scored 7 goals and added 5 assists to go along with a solid +6 rating. A January check-in on the 19-year-old winger found him with the those same 12 points in 31 games, so he didn’t finish his first season in the German version of “the bigs” with a flourish.
Munich also played ten Champions League games and Schutz fared well in those, producing four goals and an assist in that tournament.
In addition to his time with Red Bull Munich, Schutz played three games on loan with SC Riessersee in Germany’s third division and lit it up with two goals and four assists.
Schutz also represented his country at the 2020 World Junior Championship and helped Germany stay in the Elite Division with a 2-1 regulation series win over Kazakhstan. He played in all seven of Germany’s games and finished the tournament with four assists.
An average-sized winger with good skill. Schutz is a long-term project with middle-six potential is he reaches his ceiling. Another season in Europe may help boost his standing but whether he stays in Germany or crosses the pond to come to North America he needs to keeping working hard on improving his game.
What does Justin Schutz’ future hold?
| NHL Top-SIx player? | 7 |
| NHL Bottom-SIx player? | 17 |
| NHL/AHL “tweener” | 16 |
| Strictly minor-league fodder | 6 |
| European pro | 5 |