Kai Schwindt defies odds, inks NHL deal

MISSISSAUGA — There were setbacks. A lot of them.

Like when Kai Schwindt was cut from the Kitchener Jr. Rangers Triple-A minor midget squad and relegated to minor development hockey — a level above house league — three years back.

Or the following year, when the hockey season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic at a critical time in the Breslau teenager’s career.

There was the night of the Ontario Hockey League draft, where he watched friends get selected, but never heard his name called.

It was the same story during his NHL draft year too. No interest. No phone calls. No professional sweater to slip on.

Through it all, the 18-year-old didn’t complain. He didn’t give up. In fact, he doubled down.

“I’ve always been set on hockey my whole life,” said Schwindt. “I don’t think I’ve ever had any doubt in myself.”

Last month, that determination paid off.

Schwindt attended Florida Panthers training camp as a free agent invite and left with a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL club.

“It’s a huge honor,” he said. “I’ve worked hard for it and I feel like I’ve earned it. But I also feel like I have a lot of work still to do.”

Schwindt is the middle brother in a hockey family.

Older brother Cole was a Panthers third-round draft pick before being dealt to the Calgary Flames this past summer. Younger sibling Brady was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers but has since been traded to the Mississauga Steelheads.

That’s where Schwindt currently plies his trade.

He was staring down a season with the Jr. B Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins when the Fish lured him to Mississauga as a free agent just before last season started and went on to score a dozen goals while adding five assists in 68 games as a rookie.

“Kai doesn’t do what’s asked of him, he does extra,” said Steelheads general manager and coach James Richmond. “There are a lot of kids out there that say they want to be a pro and do the work but they don’t show up for the morning skates and the extra gym workouts. Kai does.”

It’s that attention to detail that caught Florida’s eye.

Schwindt participated in the team’s development camp this past July and impressed enough to earn an invitation to the main training camp, which ran late last month.

“I know I’m not the most skilled guy,” he said. “I’m not going to dangle through everyone. I just put my head down and go to work and it pays off.”

As Richmond puts it: “He’s not pretty to watch. But he’s pretty darn effective and a great character person. Those are the guys you win with.”

When Schwindt attended his exit interview from training camp he expected Panthers’ brass to assess his performance and wish him well. Instead, he was offered a three-year deal.

When he officially put pen to paper, the team linked in his mother Laura and brother Cole by telephone.

There was a notable absence for the big moment — Schwindt’s father Jason, who passed away about a year ago.

“I miss him every day,” he said. “But I think he’d be really proud of me for sure.”

Schwindt was back in Canada and on the ice for the Steelheads a day after signing his contract.

He’s hoping to make the leap to the pros next season and wants to go out on a high with Mississauga, who are considered a contender in the OHL’s eastern conference.

That might be asking a lot.

Then again, Schwindt is used to overcoming the odds.

“Everyone has their own hockey story,” he said. “You just have to trust the process and put in the work and good things will come to you.”

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