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Stillman Signs ELC

Today the Devils announced that they have signed their second first-rounder, Chase Stillman to a three-year entry-level contract.

Stillman was chosen by the Devils 29th overall in the 2021 Draft. He was the second of two first rounders the Devils had in this past Draft.

The 18-year-old played this past season with Esbjerg U20 in Denmark. He was on loan from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League according to the Devils’ PR team’s press release on the signing. The OHL did not play a season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In eight games with Esbjerg, Stillman had nine goals and seven assists (16 points) and 43 PIM according to the press release. He led Esbjerg “in points per game and ranked third in goals and points.”

The press release notes that Stillman had 13 goals and 21 assists totaling 34 points over 58 games for Sudbury in 2019-20. It also said that pre-OHL, he played in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League for the Rayside-Balfour Canadians where he totaled six goals and two assists (eight points) in the regular season. In the playoffs, he had two points (a goal and an assist).

The 6-foot, 1-inch, 180-pounder grew up in Sudbury, Ontario, but was born in St. Louis, according to the press release, as his father, Cory Stillman, was playing for the Blues at the time.

Cory was picked sixth overall in the 1992 Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames and would go on to play 16 NHL seasons. According to the press release, he played in over 1,000 NHL contests and had 727 points. He won the Stanley Cup twice, once with the Lightning in 2004 and once with the Hurricanes in 2006 – spanning the lockout season.

In addition to his NHL father, Stillman’s brother Riley currently plays for the Blackhawks – going into his second season at the NHL level.

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Goaltender Akira Schmid Signs ELC

The Devils this morning announced that they have signed goaltender Akira Schmid, their fifth-round pick in the 2018 Draft, to an Entry Level Contract.

The contract is for three years and kicks in the 2021-22 season.

Schmid, newly 21-years-old on May 12, played last year with the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. He is 6-feet, 5-inches and 205-pounds and led the USHL last year in goals against average (2.01) and save percentage (.921). He finished the season with a 22-13-1 record over 36 games. He also notches three shutouts. Sioux City – as mentioned in the press release the Devils put out – was eliminated from the Clark Cup Playoffs last week by the Fargo Force. He was “2-2 with a .920 save percentage and [a] 2.28 save percentage.”

In 2018-19 with the Omaha Lancers (also of the USHL), he led the league in save percentage (,926) and was second in goals against (2.18). He was named to the USHL’s Third All-Star Team in the postseason.

A native of Bern, Switzerland, Schmid represented the Swiss in at three World Junior Championships (2018 to 2020) and two under-18 World Championships (2017 and 2018),

In international competition, he was teammates with Devils’ captain Nico Hischier at the 2917 under-18’s. He played youth hockey through to 2018 with the Swiss club Langnau.

The Devils have now signed two goalie prospects since May 5. They signed Nico Daws (selected 84th overall in 2020 in the third-round) to a three-year ELC in early May.