Are the Schmaltz brothers of the National Hockey League Jewish?
Published October 26, 2018
(JTA) — Nick Schmaltz is spreading around the puck this season as the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks try to rebound from some lean times a campaign ago.
Schmaltz, a third-year forward, has 6 assists to tie for the team lead as the Blackhawks have jumped out to a 6-2-2 start, tied for second in the Western Conference’s Central Division. The club finished last a season ago and missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
For the uninitiated, schmaltz is the fat rendered from poultry used for frying or spread on bread especially popular among Ashkenazi Jews. (My mom always gave me a hard time for dipping my rye, even white bread; not healthy but oh so good!)
Nick isn’t the only Schmaltz in the National Hockey League, either. His older brother, Jordan, is a third-year defenseman for the St. Louis Blues. The Wisconsin brothers both played for the University of North Dakota and were first-round draft picks.
It appears that the Schmaltzes are not Jewish, however. The Jew or not Jew website says the family comes from German ancestry.
