Cory Franklin Schneider (born March 18, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey player. A goaltender, he played for the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Schneider was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2004 NHL entry draft. Following his draft, he began a three-year tenure with the Boston College Eagles, winning two Lamoriello Trophies as Hockey East champions and making two NCAA Final appearances during his college career. Schneider turned professional with Vancouver's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, in 2007 and was named the league's Goaltender of the Year following his second season. After three seasons with the Moose, he became the Canucks' full-time backup in 2010–11. In his first full season with the Canucks, he won the William M. Jennings Trophy with Roberto Luongo for establishing the best team goals against average (GAA) in the NHL. The following campaign, he set Canucks records for best GAA and save percentage in a single season with 1.96 and .937 marks, respectively.
At the 2013 NHL entry draft, Schneider was traded to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth overall selection. With the exception of the 2017–18 season, the Devils were never a successful team during Schneider's seven-year tenure, despite several strong seasons from Schneider. When the Devils qualified for the playoffs in 2017–18, Schneider's performance had already begun to dramatically decline. The team bought out the remainder of his contract in 2020.
Internationally, Schneider has represented the United States at various junior levels. Early in his career, he won gold and silver medals at the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup and 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships, respectively. He later competed in the 2005 and 2006 World Junior Championships, finishing in fourth with the United States each time. Due to his Swiss ancestry, Schneider also holds a Swiss citizenship.
Early life Schneider was born to Susan and Richard Schneider in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Schneider started training with his goalie coach, Brian Daccord, at age 15; Daccord now owns Stop It Goaltending, a company of which currently Schneider owns a small percentage. He began playing hockey around the age of six, trying out for the same team as his older brother, Geoff. He did not become a regular goaltender until the age of 11, as the Marblehead Youth Hockey teams he played with at earlier ages rotated the position. Growing up, Schneider looked up to Mike Richter of the New York Rangers for being a successful American goaltender. Paying homage to Richter, he chose to wear the jersey number 35.
Schneider earned his secondary education at Marblehead High School in his hometown and Phillips Academy, a prep school in Andover, Massachusetts, where he graduated. In addition to hockey, he was also a varsity baseball player for two years during his time at Phillips Academy. While excelling in sports, Schneider also maintained proficiency in academics. Following his senior year, he received the school's Yale Bowl and the Boston Bruins' John Carlton Memorial Trophy, both for achievement in scholarship and athletics. While enrolled at Boston College, Schneider majored in finance in the institution's Carroll School of Management. He continued to be recognized for academic achievement, being named to two Hockey East All-Academic Teams and earning Paul Patrick Daley Student-Athlete Scholarship in 2006.
He is a member of his hometown Friends of Marblehead Hockey Hall of Fame. Inducted on August 18, 2008, he is the only born-and-raised native to be drafted into the NHL.
Due to his father's ancestry, he holds both American and Swiss citizenship.
Playing career
High school and USNTDP (2000–2004) Schneider played with Marblehead High School in his freshman year before moving to Phillips Academy because of their more prestigious hockey team. In his senior year with the school, he was named the team captain. He posted 17 wins and 4 losses with a .960 save percentage, while leading Phillips Academy to the New England Prep School semifinals. Schneider was a two-time All-New England selection in his high school career with Phillips Academy. During his senior year, Schneider also joined the United States National Team Development Program. He appeared in 10 games with the under-18 club and two games in North American Hockey League play.
Going into the 2004 NHL entry draft, Schneider was the second-ranked American goaltender behind Al Montoya and seventh North American goaltender overall by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks on June 26, 2004.
Boston College (2004–2007) With the option of joining the major junior ranks in Canada or staying in the United States to play college hockey, Schneider prioritized getting an education and committed to the Boston College Eagles. He had also considered Harvard and Cornell. Boston College head coach Jerry York had considered delaying Schneider's debut for another season and have him play Junior A in the United States Hockey League. However, when forward Adam Pineault left Boston College to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, a scholarship was made available and York decided to keep Schneider on the roster.
Schneider made 23 saves in his college debut, a 3–2 win against the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks. He was then chosen as the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on October 19, 2004. He later notched his first college shutout against the Yale Bulldogs on January 11, 2005. The following month, he was sidelined for three weeks after tearing the medial collateral ligament of his left knee during a game against the Harvard Crimson on February 14, 2005. Splitting the goaltending duties with senior Matti Kaltiainen, he appeared in 18 games with a 1.90 goals against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage while finishing with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 4 ties. He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and received Boston College's Bernie Burke Outstanding Freshman Award.
By the playoffs, York made Schneider his starting goaltender over Kaltiainen. He went on to backstop Boston College to a record-setting sixth Lamoriello Trophy in team history as Hockey East champions. He made 39 saves in a double-overtime semifinal win against the Maine Black Bears, before a 26-save performance in Boston's 3–1 final win against the New Hampshire Wildcats. He gained Hockey East Rookie of the Week accolades on March 21, 2005, for his semifinal and final wins and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts. Advancing to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Boston College lost their regional final by a 6–3 score to the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
In Schneider's sophomore season, he posted a college career-high .929 save percentage and two team records of eight shutouts and 1,088 saves. He posted 242:19 consecutive shutout minutes in the month of January, not allowing a goal for more than 11 periods. His streak was broken on January 27, 2006, in a game against Boston University. His 1.96 GAA was first among goaltenders in conference play, earning him the Hockey East Goaltending Award (his overall GAA including inter-conference play was 2.11). He was named to the Hockey East Second All-Conference Team and was a co-recipient with teammate Chris Collins for both the Hockey East Three Stars Award and Boston College MVP. At the 2006 Beanpot, he received the Eberly Trophy as the tournament's best goaltender with a .924 save percentage. His 24 wins in 39 regular season appearances helped Boston College to a successful regular season. In the playoffs, they failed to defend their Hockey East championship, losing to the Boston University Terriers in the final. Qualifying for the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Boston College met Boston University again in the regional final. Shutting the Terriers out to advance to the Frozen Four, Schneider was named the Northeastern Regional Tournament MVP. Boston College then defeated North Dakota in the semifinal before losing the national championship to the Wisconsin Badgers 2–1.
In his third season with Boston College, Schneider recorded a college career-high 29 wins in 42 games, along with a 2.15 GAA and .925 save percentage. He led the Eagles to their second Lamoirello Trophy in three years, defeating New Hampshire by a 5–2 score in the final. He made his second consecutive appearance in the NCAA final, but lost to the Michigan State Spartans. Following his third college season, Schneider chose to forgo his senior year to turn professional. He left Boston College with a career record of 65 wins, 25 losses and 7 ties in 97 games, as well as a college career mark of 15 shutouts.
Vancouver Canucks (2008–2013)
Schneider signed an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 3, 2007. He was regarded as the Canucks' third-string goalie behind Roberto Luongo and the newly acquired backup Curtis Sanford. Following his first NHL training camp, he was assigned to the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL). After a shaky start to the 2007–08 season (3–7–0 record, 3.69 GAA and .872 save percentage in 11 games), he was privately called out by head coach Scott Arniel in mid-December after being pulled the previous game. In recalling the meeting, Schneider has commented that "[Arniel] was one of the first guys to...tell me I wasn't good enough, something that I hadn't really heard a lot growing up. Sometimes it's something you need to hear." From that point on, he emerged as Manitoba's starting goalie over fellow Canucks prospect Drew MacIntyre, and was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for March. He finished the season with a 21–12–2 record, 2.28 GAA and .916 save percentage. Although the Moose were eliminated in the first round by the Syracuse Crunch, Schneider had an impressive playoffs, recording a 1.92 GAA and .938 save percentage over six games.