Akira Schmid’s greatest enemy right now isn’t a flying puck. It’s jet lag.
The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender is still fighting it after returning from Italy for the Winter Olympics.
He woke up at 6 a.m. for a practice that didn’t start until 11 a.m. Saturday at City National Arena.
“I’d rather do that than fall asleep at 6,” Schmid said, laughing.
Schmid is the first Olympian to return to Knights practice after representing Switzerland in the games.
Tomas Hertl (Czechia) and Rasmus Andersson (Sweden) are expected to follow suit Monday.
The Swiss were eliminated in the quarterfinals in a 3-2 overtime loss to Finland on Wednesday. Schmid didn’t dress for that game.
Schmid said he wasn’t sure what to expect in Milan. He and the rest of his Swiss teammates stayed in the Olympic Village. Think of it as a makeshift college atmosphere where athletes and coaches mingle in cramped settings.
Some players rode scooters around the village. Schmid was fond of the different lounges and the gaming room that was there.
“You just kind of try to soak everything in,” Schmid said. “We had a great time. Our team was a very tight-knit group. We hung out a lot. Played a lot of card games. It was a fun experience.”
Schmid’s family was with him. They went into the city a few times, experienced the culture and the food.
“A lot of the same food,” he said, “but it was good.”
Schmid only got one start for Switzerland. It was a memorable one — a 5-1 loss to high-powered Canada on Feb. 13.
He made 34 saves, including the save of the tournament — a scorpion stop on Canada captain Sidney Crosby.
“He held on so long to the puck, I thought, ‘He’s going to run out of real estate soon.’ But then he kind of dragged me all the way over,” Schmid said. “He’s holding onto it, so I got to do something.”
Schmid did all he could to keep his teammates in the game, but the dam broke against the Canadian super team.
While there’s a sense of disappointment he got only one game, Schmid was grateful for the experience. It couldn’t have come against a better opponent.
“It was an exciting game. That’s probably the game you want to play as a goalie, and thankfully I got it,” he said. “I thought I did a good job.
“There are maybe one or two goals I would like to have back if you want to win a game like that, but it was a great experience. I don’t know when I’m going to play a team like that again.”
Schmid, a winner of a career-high 16 games this year, is hopeful the experience in Italy can propel him for the rest of the Knights’ season. They’ll need him with how crammed the schedule is coming out of the Olympics.
The Knights play 18 games in a month’s span with two back-to-backs. They have two days off between games one time.
For as little a workload he had in Italy, it’s about to increase ten-fold.
“There’s just a pride playing for your team,” Schmid said. “To experience that and feel it, I’m trying to bring that here.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
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