Schmid an Inspiration to Former Teammates | BLOG

Sports and its stars, its players, can certainly be inspiring, whether it's a group of fans, a future generation of players, or their peers.
And with the start the Utica Comets have been on, they've certainly drawn attention to themselves as a hard-working group, doing special things.
Everyone loves a feel-good story and the Comets have most certainly been delivering just that. Not only has their 17-1-2 run to start the year been something to inspire others, but individual accomplishments have also resonated.
Just a little over a year ago, goaltender Akira Schmid (8-0-2) was playing in the USHL. He was playing in Sioux City, Iowa with the Musketeers, a city of around 82,000 people. Schmid's NHL call-up on Dec. 10 made waves 1,274.9 miles away.

"He probably heard it in New Jersey," his Sioux head coach Luke Strand
told the Sioux City Journal
, of the cheers his former teammates made when Strand announced to the team Schmid had received his first call up opportunity.
One of those players was Musketeer's goaltender Alex Tracy, who has taken over the crease from Schmid.
"He's probably my favorite goalie partner of all time," Tracy shared. "I texted him right away, I was so happy for him."
The path from the USHL directly into the pro hockey ranks are special, but they're not particularly common. In fact, Schmid is
the first goaltender in USHL history
to move directly from the league into the AHL/NHL ranks.
It's not lost on his former teammates, who look to their friend and teammate as inspiration in working towards their own dreams.
"It's so inspiring," forward Ben Steeves said. "It just paves the way. We all know what it takes. So we're just going to keep working ourselves, and hopefully one day some of us on this team get to the highest level."