# Akira Schmid

Akira Schmid (born 12 May 2000) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round, 136th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft.

## Playing career

Schmid played most of his youth and junior ice hockey in the SCL Tigers system, appearing in just one game at the National League level, a relegation match in 2018. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL entry draft at the end of the 2017–18 season, during which he was loaned multiple times from his junior team to professional teams within Switzerland. He moved to North America to start the 2018–19 season, playing three seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Omaha Lancers and Sioux City Musketeers.
On 17 May 2021, Schmid signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils. Schmid made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on 11 December 2021, in a 4–2 loss to the New York Islanders. By making his debut with the Devils, Schmid made history in becoming the first goaltender to debut in the NHL directly from the USHL.
In the 2022–23 season, on 10 November 2022, Schmid collected his first career NHL win with the Devils in a 4–3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators. On 25 February 2023, Schmid recorded his first NHL shutout with the Devils in a 7–0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. In first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Schmid started game three after starter Vítek Vaněček gave up nine goals in the first two games of the series. He went on to get the win in that game, and shutout the Rangers in games five and seven to secure the series victory for the Devils.
On 29 June 2024, during the 2024 NHL entry draft, Schmid and Alexander Holtz were traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in 2025. As a restricted free agent, Schmid did not receive a qualifying offer from Vegas, and thus became an unrestricted free agent two days later; however, he ultimately signed a two-year contract with Vegas on 3 July. Since he was the third-string goaltender for Vegas behind Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov, Schmid was reassigned to the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights on 2 October. Following an injury to Samsonov, Schmid was recalled to the NHL on 2 November; he subsequently made his debut for Vegas on 11 November, entering a game against the Carolina Hurricanes in relief of Hill and stopping all 12 shots faced.

## International play

Schmid represented Switzerland at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a silver medal. In his first start of the event, a preliminary round match against Great Britain, he recorded a 15-save shutout.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league.
| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
| 2016–17 | SCL Tigers | Elite Jr. A | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 8 | 0 | 3.97 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | SCL Tigers | Elite Jr. A | 32 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 1,867 | 81 | 2 | 2.60 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 238 | 12 | 0 | 3.02 | — |
| 2017–18 | EHC Thun | MSL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 244 | 9 | 0 | 2.21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 7 | 0 | 7.43 | .741 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Corpus Christi IceRays | NAHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | .948 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 37 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 2,012 | 73 | 2 | 2.18 | .926 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 359 | 18 | 0 | 3.01 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 405 | 23 | 1 | 3.41 | .888 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 36 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 2,147 | 72 | 3 | 2.01 | .921 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 237 | 9 | 1 | 2.28 | .920 |
| 2021–22 | Utica Comets | AHL | 38 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 2,167 | 94 | 2 | 2.60 | .911 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 3.89 | .895 |
| 2021–22 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 236 | 19 | 0 | 4.83 | .833 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Utica Comets | AHL | 23 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1,349 | 59 | 2 | 2.62 | .905 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 18 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 902 | 32 | 1 | 2.13 | .922 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 460 | 18 | 2 | 2.35 | .921 |
| 2023–24 | Utica Comets | AHL | 23 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 1,353 | 69 | 1 | 3.06 | .894 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 915 | 48 | 0 | 3.15 | .895 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 43 | 14 | 18 | 3 | 2,052 | 99 | 1 | 2.90 | .899 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 460 | 18 | 2 | 2.35 | .921 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
| 2017 | Switzerland | U18 | 8th | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 153 | 9 | 0 | 3.52 | .902 |
| 2017 | Switzerland | IH18 | 7th | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 153 | 5 | 0 | 1.96 | .930 |
| 2018 | Switzerland | U18 | 9th | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | .865 |
| 2019 | Switzerland | WJC | 4th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 170 | 12 | 0 | 4.23 | .878 |
| 2024 | Switzerland | WC | | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 2 | 1 | 0.86 | .946 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 11 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 596 | 39 | 0 | 3.92 | .892 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 2 | 1 | 0.86 | .946 |

## Awards and honors

| Award | Year |
| USHL |||
| Third All-Star Team | 2019 |
| First All-Star Team | 2021 |
| Goaltender of the Year | 2021 |