Schmidt, 21, managed just two games in two injury-riddled years with the Brisbane Lions and was delisted at the end of 2008.
The former West Adelaide junior was picked up by the Crows in the 2009 NAB AFL Rookie Draft and showed some good form early last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
He played in all four of Adelaide’s pre-season games and was named best on ground for the Bloods last weekend.
Coach Neil Craig said Schmidt had been promoted to the senior list in place of injured wingman Brodie Martin, who is not expected to play before round 16.
“We’ve elevated Chris. It’s not a guarantee that he’ll play, but it means he’s coming under consideration and we can’t pick him if he’s not on the list,” Craig said on Thursday.
“We’ve got Andy Otten on the long-term injury list as well, so we’ve still got the capacity to bring another rookie up if we want to.”
Midfielder Nathan van Berlo will spend a second week on the sidelines after picking up a slight hamstring strain at training last weekend, but Craig was confident skipper Simon Goodwin (corked knee) would be fit to take on the Dees.
Utility Scott Stevens completed Thursday’s main training session and will make the trip to Melbourne, after missing the loss to the Sydney Swans with concussion.
Forward Chris Knights and second-year tall Shaun McKernan have also been named in the 25-man-squad, with one or both expected to play on Sunday.
The Crows are desperate for a win after dropping their opening two games of the season, but Craig said his players needed to focus on the process of winning rather than the end result.
“We’ve put that (our top-four aspirations) out there and I don’t have any regrets with putting that out there because I think playing at our full potential, with what our supporters have seen and what we think we’re capable of that is where we should be aiming,” Craig said.
“Now, we’ve got to deal with circumstances we’ve been dealt or have created ourselves and we just keep pushing on. We’ve got to concentrate on the mechanics, on the actions and the behaviours that we need to get better at and not keep harping on (and saying), ‘what if we lose this one? We’ll be 3-0’.
“What our supporters need to see this week is a bit of improvement.”
