While the St. Louis Blues continue to turn heads with 10 wins in the month of October, their hottest player has seemingly flown under the radar.
After Monday night's convincing 4-2 beat down of the Los Angeles Kings, Blues forward Jaden Schwartz sits third in the NHL in scoring with 17 points (eight goals and nine assists) through 13 games. If not for the insanely hot starts from Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, Schwartz would be pacing the league.
But, for whatever reason, no one is really talking about the unheralded Wilcox, Saskatchewan native, when they really should be.
In addition to being the club's leading scorer, Schwartz is also its most versatile forward, playing in almost every scenario for St. Louis head coach Mike Yeo.
He plays on the Blues' top power-play unit, kills penalties, and logs heavy minutes (19:30 per game this season) while serving as an offensive catalyst on the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
The newly-formed trio are putting up solid offensive numbers to start the season and Tarasenko is just getting warmed up, having scored just six goals.
Schwartz, Schenn, and Tarasenko have accounted for almost 40 percent of St. Louis' goals to this point, displaying a chemistry that should have Blues fans lining up to get No. 17 stitched on their backs.
Fans should be especially excited due to the fact that Tarasenko and Schwartz have a history of playing well together, with Tarasenko playing a major role in Schwartz posting back-to-back 25-plus-goal seasons a few years ago.
Given the injuries to Robby Fabbri and Patrik Berglund, and the offseason departure of David Perron, Schwartz will be counted on even more this year and will get ample time to continue to prove his worth.
Schwartz might be well known in St. Louis hockey circles while currently operating under the radar, but with numbers like his, expect his stock and popularity to rise.
Point production, a strong two-way game, and the ability to play in all scenarios make Schwartz a player you need to be paying attention to.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.