I will start by saying that my pick is Michkov and I'm not buying the "serious criticism to his game" comments that have come out lately. Assuming Borbov gets the intel that there is zero chance that Michkov ever comes over, here are my thoughts:
For most of the year, Smith has been a tier above the rest of these guys. I thought he had a very good U18 and shut down some criticism but seems that all of a sudden there is more criticism.
Benson: I feel like he's overlooked as our pick. We want compete? This guy has a lot of compete and has a very skilled game to mesh with it (could make a case that it's a better combo of these two attributes than anyone else on this list). Of course injury concerns, size, and lack of high end skating is likely why many overlook him, but this guy is a gamer. I liked the Zuccarello comparison.
Dvorsky: I like the player but I really question the offensive ability to become a top line player. Great shot and seems like one of the players that can genuinely become a center in the NHL comfortably, but I don't really think he's a need nor BPA.
Leonard: Guy is a beauty, does everything good to very good. I'd be all over him if we had more high end guys up front to compliment him but man the way he plays the game just seems so contagious and it's not a 3rd line grinder, he's got some actual skill to back it up. Doubt he's ever going to be someone that leads the offense on a top 6 line, but a high end complimentary player nonetheless.
Reinbacher: He gets compared to Jiricek but I prefer Jiricek by quite a bit if I'm being honest. Nevertheless, still think Reinbacher is a smart player that will play 25 min in the NHL and produce 30-40 points.
Smith: Yes his lack of motor and the way he plays the game may not be translateable to the NHL. That being said, the creativity and IQ is what we need to be looking at and I do believe he is a smart enough player to adjust his game while still being this super skilled and creative player up front.
Wood: For all the times we have tried to big brain our draft pick, this is the one where I'd be happy with. Besides the skating (which needs a lot of work), he pretty much does it all in a 6'4 frame. I believe he's got upside as much as anyone not named Bedard/Michkov in this draft, it's just the skating that is the issue. If we are confident that we can get his skating to just "subpar" at the NHL level, I firmly believe he's got the potential to score 70ish points while being very difficult to defend.
Overall, I still think Smith is the pick. Assuming Sharks take him and we know Michkov is never coming over, besides Dvorsky I really like all these guys but haven't finalized my list yet although believe they are in the same tier. You can make an argument for any of them really.