I’ve been waiting for a week to post because I wanted to talk to Nick Schultz first, but heartfelt condolences go out to Nick, his mother, Carol, brothers Kris and Terrence and the rest of the Schultz family for the passing of Nick’s dad, Robert Schultz, who died Sept. 1 at the age of 60 in his hometown of Strasbourg, Saskatchewan.

“Way too young,” Nick said this morning.

But Schultz, who was back on the ice at the St. Louis Park Rec Center, said it felt great to “be back at it. That’s what my dad would want.”

Robert was a very nice man, always smiling anytime I saw him and very proud of his three boys. One of the most enjoyable stories I’ve written in my career came two seasons ago during the father-son trip to California. I did a roundtable interview in Huntington Beach with Nick’s father, and the dads of Wes Walz, Mark Parrish, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kurtis Foster. It was terrific fun. Tons of laughs, and the hardest part of that story was trimming it enough to fit in the newspaper.

Later that day, I accompanied the dads and sons to Universal Studios and I remember telling Nick how much fun his father had talking about him.

– I also went down to Parade Ice Garden this morning to watch Kurtis Foster skate for the second straight day. He skated for 30 minutes and felt a lot more comfortable on his healing leg. He was able to shoot in stride this morning.

Couple tidbits: He’s asked the Wild if he can accompany the team to Grand Forks for the first four days of training camp so he can work with the strength coaches and “feel part of the team.” He’s also seen a sports psychologist to help with the mental side of returning from such a serious injury.

– I talked to Jacques Lemaire yesterday at his home in Florida. I thought you’d get a kick out of this, but he drove his boat, “the Trap,” up to St. Pete a few days ago. Because of all the storm activity, he had to ride through five-foot waves.

“Oh my Lord, that was an adventure,” Lemaire said.

– I talked to John Vollan, Mark Parrish’s agent. He says there’s a good chance Parrish still won’t have a job when NHL training camps begin next week. When Parrish was bought out in late July, most team’s rosters were set. They are banking on the possibility that some kids won’t pan out, and thus, jobs will open. He said Europe is a “last resort.”

– The Wild’s prospect tournament in Traverse City with Columbus, Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit, the Rangers and Tampa Bay runs Sept. 13-17. If you have NHL Network, eight games will be televised with a day’s delay. Here’s the NHL Network schedule as forwarded to me by the NHL:

Sunday, September 14

8:00 PM ET - Thrashers vs. Lightning

10:00 PM ET - Stars vs. Blues

Monday, September 15

8:00 PM ET - Wild vs. Blues

10:00 PM ET - Stars vs. Blue Jackets

Wednesday, September 17

8:00 PM ET - Rangers vs. Lightning

10:00 PM ET - Red Wings vs. Thrashers

Thursday, September 18

8:00 PM ET - Third Place Game

10:00 PM ET - Championship Game

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