BILOXI, Miss. � Former Mississippi Sea Wolves center Chris Schmidt became the fifth former Sea Wolves player to advance to the National Hockey League.
The 26-year-old Schmidt made his debut tonight for the Los Angeles Kings at Nashville. Schmidt did not register a shot on net, finishing a minus-two in the Kings 3-2 win over the Predators. He was recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.
Schmidt played with Mississippi during the 1996-97 season and again during 1998-99. His tenure with the Sea Wolves was highlighted by being a member of Mississippi�s Kelly Cup Championship team in 1999. During his two stints with Mississippi in the regular season, Schmidt played a total of 24 games. The 6-foot-3 and 215-pound native of Beaverlodge, Alberta tallied eight goals and collected seven assists for 15 points. In the 1999 Kelly Cup Playoffs, Schmidt appeared in 18 games, scoring five goals and adding eight assists for 13 points.
Schmidt was originally selected by Los Angeles in the fifth round (111th overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He re-signed with the Kings as a free agent in April, 2001.
Schmidt joins Jason Morgan (Los Angeles), Jan Nemecek (Los Angeles), Travis Scott (Los Angeles) and Dan Focht (Phoenix) as Sea Wolves alumni that have advanced to the NHL.
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