![]() He reminds me a little bit, he has that swagger like Trevor Zegras has. He just reads the play so quickly and so offensively. Without the puck he's responsible to do his job on the backcheck, to do his job with coverages. He's an offensive machine, but he's also a responsible player. It looks like an innocent enough play, and then all of a sudden he makes a move or he makes a pass or he pulls away and there's a scoring opportunity. At the beginning you sit there and say, 'Is this guy the real deal?' Every game you go to, he proves it, he shows it. He's a special player who just has gotten better as the season's gone on."ĭan Marr, NHL Central Scouting director: "He's just an all-around highly skilled talent. (He had) 20 points in seven games, tied Jack Hughes' U.S. He projects to be a really top-end offensive player whenever he is ready to move to the next level. I think Troy Terry might be a little bit better of a comp just because of Troy's goal-scoring ability, because Will has really added that as more of an element."Īdam Kimelman, NHL.com: "Will Smith has that get you out of your seat skill set, that explosive offensive ability with the skating and the ability to create something out of nothing with the hands and his skating. … I think he plays a lot like Trevor Zegras. And also his strength, which still needs to get better, has gotten better this year. His skating has improved, which was a knock on him before. I think that he's gotten stronger this year. He has maybe the best hands in the draft in terms of his ability to make guys miss one-on-one. ![]() 1 line (with the USNTDP), and every guy on that line is having essentially a record season. There just aren't many players I've seen come through the draft who can do what he can do with the puck on his stick."Ĭhris Peters, FloHockey: "The thing about Will Smith is he's an incredibly dynamic talent. … I think he's maybe not going to be the most well-rounded player in this draft long-term, but I think Will Smith has an opportunity to be one of the most productive in terms of a point-producing perspective in this draft after a Connor Bedard. That in concert with how quickly he plays, his ability to do it at speed and his ability to process and problem solve out there offensively, it's a pretty tantalizing option for (the Blue Jackets), especially because he plays down the middle. Probably a top-three set of hands - I would put Gabe Perreault and Connor Bedard in there as well, but there's a strong case to be made he's got the best hands in the draft. Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: "This is not a knock on Matvei Michkov or Connor Bedard, but he's the most gifted player in terms of breaking down opponents one-on-one with the puck on his stick in this draft. Scored 24 points (11-13-24) in 11 career U-18 World Championship games, tied with Cole Caufield for third most in Team USA history behind just Hughes and Phil Kessel.ĭylan Tyrer chats with Will Smith The Experts SayĬBJ radio host Dylan Tyrer has spoken to a number of scouts and draft experts leading into the draft on the Pipeline Podcast presented by Ruoff.Produced a career 82-109-191 line in 123 games with the NTDP, second most points ever behind Hughes (228).Tied Jack Hughes' American record with 20 points at a single IIHF U-18 worlds tournament and finished one behind Nikita Kucherov's all-time mark of 21 points set in 2011.Produced a 9-11-20 line in seven games and was named tournament MVP while leading the United States to gold at the IIHF World U-18 Championship.Notched 42 of those points (15-27-42) in 20 games against USHL competition.Is second in USNTDP history for points in a single season behind classmate Gabe Perrault, with both breaking a record previously held by Auston Matthews.3 North American skater available by NHL Central Scouting after posting a 51-76-127 line in 60 games with the U.S. We'll list Smith's bio info, his accomplishments in his career to this point, share a couple quotes from the player himself at the NHL Scouting Combine and conclude with expert opinions on the standout. National Team Development Program history, Smith could be the next big American star in the NHL thanks to offensive talent that is off the charts. One of the most productive players in U.S. With that in mind, we're breaking down those four players the rest of this week, continuing today with Smith. MORE: Draft consensus rankings | CBJ draft hub | RSVP for Wednesday's draft party
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