Westman Wildcats sniper Reese Schutte enjoys physical game

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This article was published 07/02/2024 (578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There has been no sophomore jinx for Westman Wildcats forward Reese Schutte.

In fact, she’s excelling offensively for her second-place team in the U18 AAA Manitoba Female Hockey League thanks to her strong play along the wall, and creating havoc for goalies and rearguards when she’s parked in front of the crease.

When she was under-aged to play U18 AAA instead of another year of U15 AAA bantam, the rookie ninth grader scored four goals and added one assist in 28 games. This season, after 26 games, Schutte is second in team scoring behind rookie Ivy Perkin (26 games, 16g, 14a, 30p), and ninth in league scoring with 13 goals and 23 points in 26 games.

Gearing up for the playoffs and the Wildcats peaking at just the right time, Schutte is looking forward to her team battling for league bragging rights, perhaps a trip to the final facing first-place Winnipeg Ice and the league’s top sniper Stephanie Jacob, who has 31 goals and 45 points in 25 games.

“As a team, we are playing well right now and can beat any team in the league,” offered Schutte. “Our coach Guy Williams says ‘Why not us?’ We all believe we can win if we all give our best effort and outwork the other teams.”

What about Jacobs in the mix?

“Jacobs is a strong player, but we play a strong defensive game with veteran defence. We are hopeful we can limit her chances with a strong team effort.”

Born in Brandon in the summer of 2008, Schutte’s parents arrived in the Wheat City in 2003, her mom from Laurier and dad from Thunder Bay, Ont. She started playing in Hockey Brandon’s system at age five, signing up for Timbits.

“I started skating when I was three on our backyard rink my dad built for my brother Quinn and I,” she recalled. “It wasn’t very big, but it did the job and especially helped with our tight turns.”

Having a big brother already playing minor hockey piqued Schutte’s interest to also play.

“I decided to play hockey because I wanted to be like my brother and I also heard my two cousins, Chloe and Felix, were about to start as well, so I did the same and played on a team with them.”

While she can’t recall her first minor hockey goal, she has no problem describing the feeling of scoring her first U18 AAA MFHL goal with the Wildcats.

“It was against the Winnipeg Avros at the start of the (2022-23) season. I moved around one of the defenders, passed it to one of my teammates and they passed it straight back and I made a quick shot and was able to get it in the back of the net,” she recalled.

“I just felt pure joy in that moment and remember skating onto the bench afterwards and my teammates surrounding me, patting me on the back and cheering. Our captain Sophia Anderson grabbed the puck and after the game gave it to me with tape around it which she wrote the date and that it was my first goal in the league.”

It was only natural Schutte decided on a forward position versus playing defence. She centres a line with Perkin and Kelsey Huibers — 15th in scoring with eight goals and 19 points in 23 games — and uses her quick feet to beat opponents.

“I am a strong and fast skater, and my speed helps me beat defenders on rushes and catch up to the opposition on the back check,” she said. “You can often find me in front of the net on the power play, screening the goalie looking for rebounds and deflections to pick up.

“I’ve also been told by my coaches I make smart decisions and plays when I have to think fast and don’t have very much time. My linemates and I have very good chemistry and we always know where the other is, which makes us hard to defend.

“Kelsey and Ivy have helped a lot with the success I’ve had this season, they’re both hard-working and talented players which makes it easy to play with them.”

Another few reasons Schutte prefers playing forward are the fun coming with scoring goals and the skating.

“I like to use my skating ability and game awareness to set up opportunities for my teammates. I like the pace of playing forward and being able to create opportunities for our team to win.”

Schutte and her teammates are also among the best when it comes to power-play success. While the league’s top sniper Jacob has yet to record a power-play goal from the 31 she’s scored, the five-foot-seven left-shooting Schutte has three power-play goals. Her linemate Huibers also has three, while teammate Paige Crossley has a league-best four power-play goals.

Schutte concedes her play from U15 to U18 has improved considerably thanks to growing, adding strength, long stride on skates and having a better feel for the game.

“My hockey sense is a lot better than it was when playing bantam,” she said. “Playing U18 in Grade 9 last season opened my eyes to the pace of the game and how quick you need to move the puck as well as the physicality.

“So, I’ve definitely become a lot stronger, and with that, my shot has improved immensely. I’ve also become a faster skater than I was in bantam.”

She credits her U15 AAA coaches Karissa Kirkup, Sheridan Oswald and Amanda Coey for helping another attribute — confidence — when it comes to moving up to the U18 level.

If there’s one skill Schutte is continually honing, she said it would be her shot and its accuracy. She wants to be more efficient when it comes to offensive prowess with her own game and her linemates.

Looking back on her minor hockey memories, Schutte played with boys until her second year of U9, then switched to play all-girls hockey when she graduated to U11.

Like many of her teammates, Schutte is focused on hockey now, and spends her off-season continuing to build on her skills with the help of Jessica Stott at WCHA, Ty Lewis with Flow Hockey Development and she does dryland with Ryann Lewis. She credits the likes of Jeff Sass and Dave Lewis the past few seasons with her hockey development.

“I also try to go to CrossFit and shoot pucks when I have spare time in the summer,” she said.

While she’s in her second season with the Wildcats, Schutte still looks up to the senior players on the roster for leadership.

“With the Wildcats, I’ve had two captains, Sophia Anderson and Kelsey Huibers, both who have shown leadership through inclusiveness, kindness and humility,” she said,

“The seniors have helped show what hard work leads to and have been very helpful to when it comes to the recruiting process. They’ve helped show me the steps it takes to get to that (next) level.”

And like many of her teammates, Schutte can be superstitious when it comes to the game.

“I have a couple things I’m superstitious about before a game, like I always eat a bag of Welch’s before we go for warmup,” she said. “I do the exact same stretching routine before the game and I write on my stick with wax after I’m done taping it.”

Why write on her stick with wax? A few seasons back, Schutte was having trouble scoring so the wrote the word “snipe” on her stick. She scored that day, so has continued to do that ritual prior to a game.

Nutrition is also part of Schutte’s game. She has pasta before a game because she does find it heavy, and it’s nutrition she uses to help her skating. On most game-day mornings, she makes a smoothie, too.

An honours student, Schutte uses her team bus road trips to socialize with teammates, listen to music and complete homework.

“I sometime watch previous game footage to help me prepare for the upcoming games. If it is a longer drive, I try to do as much school work as I can or I study because I always try my best and want to get good grades in school,” she said.

“It helps having teammates older than me who have already done the classes I’m in so they can help me whenever I need it.

“I always try to aim for the best mark I can get in class because I know how much it will help me in the future, especially for post secondary.”

A fan of the NHL’s Jets and Kyle Connor, Schutte’s favourite player also wears No. 7, Laura Stacey. Seeing teammates in Grade 12 committing to Canadian and American universities this fall for hockey and a post-secondary education, Schutte has been thinking of what might happen for her by June 2026 when she graduates.

“My dream ever since I was little was to play hockey in the U.S.A.’s NCAA, but I’ve also been exploring my options in Canada. The reason I would go to the U.S. is they have some very good teams and schools out there and I think it would be a good change.

“But there is also very good options in Canada, so whatever I feel is the best suited for me is the path I will take. I’m still exploring options on what I would like to study, but I have been thinking of going into kinesiology so I can still work with sports and athletes … but I’ve also thought about going into education.”

Schutte does play other sports, enjoying softball since she was age seven. Her chosen sports do help with her hockey.

“I also enjoy doing track and field for my high school Neelin, where I do mid-distance running events. I find that running track also helps with hockey, which is one of the reasons I do it.

“In the summer, I also played on a small beach volleyball team with my friends at the Mulligans driving range. I also enjoy doing CrossFit at Rocked Community Fitness in Brandon as it helps me build my strength for hockey.”

Playoff implications: The Wildcats and fourth-place Chiefs each have two pivotal games going into this weekend which could decide the final playoff seedings from first through fifth spot. The Wildcats (18-7-1) host the first-place Winnipeg Ice (19-4-3) on Friday in Hartney, then the fifth-place Avros (15-9-2) on Saturday. Both games at 7:30 p.m. The Chiefs (16-9-1) also have two home games, first on Saturday they face the Ice, then Sunday the Avros arrive. Puck drops at 2:30 p.m. in Shoal Lake for both games. The only team not in the mix facing the top-five teams is the third-place Eastman Selects (16-7-2) who face teams not in the hunt for top-four placings.

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