On June 30, former Badger defenseman Justin Schultz confirmed what everyone had been anticipating for weeks: He’s finally making the jump to the NHL.

After days of guessing where he might end up off a short list of teams that included Vancouver, New York, Toronto and Ottawa, the two-time All-American in 2011 and 2012 , who was also a Hobey Baker finalist those same years, announced his decision to take his talents to the Edmonton Oilers.

In his time at the University of Wisconsin  – beyond his national accolades – Schultz amassed 113 points over three seasons on 40 goals and 73 assists. In both of his All-American seasons, Schultz was the highest-scoring defenseman in the nation with 47 points in 2010-11 and 44 points in 2011-12. Schultz’s 16 goals last season led the Badgers offense and a youthful squad to a 17-18-2 finish.

Herald Sports recently caught up with the West Kelowna, B.C., native to talk about his decision.

Badger Herald: So why Edmonton?

Justin Schultz: They have a young core of young players there so I thought I’d fit in there if I make the team. [There is] a very good coach there that could help me along the way, especially in my early years. Obviously being in Canada is a pretty cool place to play hockey, so it’s exciting.

BH: Can you talk about being contacted by guys like Wayne Gretzky? That’s certainly not an everyday affair.

JS: Yeah it was pretty cool to be contacted by him; I mean he’s obviously the greatest player to ever play the game. It was kind of a shock but it really showed that Edmonton was willing to reach out to those kind of efforts to get those people to call me and show their interest in me.

BH: Was it humbling knowing all these teams were vying for your attention?

JS: Yeah, I wasn’t really expecting any of that. They’re not going to know what’s going to happen once I play, but having all those teams wanting me to be a part of their organization is definitely pretty cool – I mean after all the hard work I put in. It was a neat experience. I’m happy it’s over with.

BH: How did you handle the criticism that you got through the whole thing?

JS: I just kind of tuned it out. I know I got a lot of tweets and stuff like that so I just shut that down for the time. … I’m not trying to worry about any of that and just worrying about hockey.

BH: When did you know, or when did you decide that this was going to be your last at UW?

JS: It was kind of a big decision for me to come back this last year and probably pretty early on in the season or halfway I kind of knew it that it would be my last year of college hockey. I kind of knew the whole year that it was my final year.

BH: Was that, initially, a hard decision to make?

JS: Not this year it wasn’t because I think the harder decision was to come back for another year last year. Ever since it was a decision, I think, everyone expected me to make. I know coach [Mike] Eaves, he expected it so it wasn’t too difficult.

BH: Do you have any regrets leaving early? I mean your freshman year you were runner-up national champions and obviously an all-American two years and a Hobey Baker finalist those two years as well.

JS: You know, I obviously wanted to win a national championship; that’s the reason you play. But they’re going to have a good team this year and they’re going to have a good chance so it’s kind of bittersweet. They’ll be fine without me. I’m excited to move on.

BH: Speaking of moving on, do you have any hopes or fears for what’s to come, because obviously it’s not guaranteed yet.

JS: Yeah, I obviously have to prove myself and make the team. I’ll be a little nervous making this step, it’s a big jump for me, but I’ll just go on the ice and play like I’ve always played and I should be fine.