Jaden Schwartz back at practice, confident after world juniors

Jaden Schwartz shy of 100 percent is still a lot better than most college hockey players at full strength, evidenced by Saturday, when he marked two goals and an assist in sparking Colorado College to a hard-fought tie against Cornell. Now, he’s skating with a full deck.

The Tigers got their second-leading point producer back at practice Wednesday, after CC coach Scott Owens gave him a pair of “mental health days” to rejuvenate from the world junior championships in Canada, and Schwartz reports that he’s feeling fresher than ever.

No doubt, No. 8 CC (12-7-1, 9-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) needs all it can get from Schwartz as it ends a six-game homestand this weekend against St. Cloud State, hoping to maintain its hold on third place in the WCHA. Schwartz has seven goals and 14 assists in 14 games, and he’s vital to a top line that has accounted for 29 percent of CC’s points and irreplaceable on a power play that ranks sixth in the country at 26.1 percent.

Don’t be surprised if Schwartz, a 2010 first-round draft pick by the St. Louis Blues, plays with a chip on his shoulder. He was Canada’s captain, and the hosts were expected to win following the disappointment of back-to-back runner-up finishes. Instead, Canada settled for a bronze medal, edged by Russia in the semifinals after a 4-0 run through pool play.

“I got some confidence playing in that tournament,” said Schwartz, who missed 15 games last season because of a broken left ankle at world juniors. He maintains if he “can play a big role on Canada,” he’s capable of success at CC. “Wearing a letter was pretty special,” he added. “You’re playing against the best players in the world at your age. They’re big-pressure situations. It’s a big crowd. It was in Canada, and there were high expectations.”

Owens calls Schwartz “unselfish and team-oriented,” even handling faceoffs Saturday in place of his older brother, Rylan, because Rylan wasn’t comfortable in the circle. “For a highly talented kid, that isn’t always the norm,” Owens said, noting that Jaden Schwartz has “real good vision. He has a real good feel for the game. And he has the stick skills to back it up. He has a good pulse on things. He’s calm, cool under pressure.”

With Jaden Schwartz on the ice, “plays are going to be easier to make,” Rylan Schwartz said. “He’s going to see the ice really well. … A lot of teams respect him. They’re going to watch him a lot more tightly. It definitely gives us more time with the puck.” William Rapuzzi said, “It brings the team up. … He’s a great playmaker. He can really do it all.”

Jaden Schwartz welcomed the spike in attention from opponents, while stressing that it’s not a situation unique to him. “When you play, you want to make the players around you better,” he said. “Whether teams are on you more or not, that’s something you’ve got to battle through. Every player has been through that at different levels.”

Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazettehockey. Google+: Brian Gomez. YouTube: Colorado College Hockey, Covered by The Gazette. For the CC hockey homepage, visit www.gazette.com/sections/sports/cchockey. For the CC hockey blog, visit http://cchockey.freedomblogging.com.