By Brad Schlossman, '04 | Grand Forks Herald

Jake Schmaltz walks the same path to the UND hockey locker room every day.

He enters through Ralph Engelstad Arena’s northeast doors, takes the stairs down to ice level, turns left and walks down the hallway.

On his left, there are eight NCAA national championship banners with team members’ names listed below them. The last one has his cousin Nick’s name on it.

Once Schmaltz gets into the locker room, he sees more family references. Both of his cousins, Nick and Jordan, are on the NHL Draft board and the NHL alumni wall.

UND may have 14 newcomers on the roster this season — its largest number of new players since 1973 — but not all of them need an introduction to the program.

“The biggest thing around here is the tradition,” said Schmaltz, whose father Marc, ’92, ’97, played for the UND football team. “You walk through these halls every day and you just take it in. It’s unbelievable. You pass all these championships. There’s one goal and I think it’s really fun, because everyone buys in here. The expectation is to win championships and win the league. It’s a team mindset here.”

UND began its quest for a third-straight Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference champions with an overhauled roster. Schmaltz, one of nine freshmen, has played a significant role from the beginning.

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound forward has been thrust into a second-line center role after Jasper Weatherby unexpectedly signed an NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks a day before the start of the fall semester.

In all, UND lost its top three centers in Collin Adams, Shane Pinto and Weatherby.

This spring, UND asked the newcomers to send in their jersey number requests.

Schmaltz sent in two: 8 and 24. Those are the numbers his cousins Nick and Jordan wore during their time in Grand Forks.

Jake received Nick’s No. 8.

That should make it easy on UND fans: same number, same position, same stick tape.

Schmaltz is already feeling at home in Grand Forks, where he attended plenty of games as a child. His grandparents live within a mile of Ralph Engelstad Arena and his uncle is a 10-minute drive away.

“My whole family went here — my parents, their parents,” Schmaltz said. “I’ve been a North Dakota guy ever since I was young.” ///