What impressed me most about Smith and Bahl is sort of the opposite of what I expected.
Smith is known for his numbers and offensive production, of course. His best attribute, in my mind, is ability to quickly and cleanly break out of the defensive zone with possession, both through his top-notch passing and his skating/puckhandling combination. It is important to note that he is not a particularly dynamic player in the offensive zone -- we're not talking about a Bowen Byram or Jamie Drysdale, here. He is just smart and excellent across the board at moving the puck in all three zones. But what really impressed me in the WJC tournament -- especially in the final vs. Russia -- was his compete level and acuity in the defensive zone. Sometimes knocked for his lack of size, Smith was very good along the boards and in the dirty areas, and battled hard and often successfully against absolutely huge Russian forwards like Marchenko and Sokolov. The more I watch Smith, the more I think that, though he's never going to be a 60+ point Norris candidate, I think he'll be a 45-50 point guy who plays extremely well in all three zones. He's smart and competitive and makes his entire team better every time he steps on the ice -- this is why Team Canada smartly relied so heavy on him, giving Smith huge minutes in all situations, all tournament long. Though an apt comparable does not come to mind right now, I see elements of multiple players in him -- Jared Spurgeon, Torrey Krug, Ryan Ellis all come to mind.
As for Bahl -- needless to say at 6'7-240 he's known for his physicality and shut-down ability. Though he did not play with a particular "edge" in this tourney, his defensive abilities were quite well displayed. His size and mobility combined with very solid (though it still needs some work) positioning makes him a constant factor for the opposition to be concerned with in the defensive zone. Bahl rarely loses battles in the corners, along the boards, or in the crease. But again -- what impressed me about Bahl was not what I expected. He was actually very adept with the puck, and all throughout the tourney there were instances where he would make a move, accelerate and skate out of the zone with possession. His outlet passing was quite impressive, and he even made a few smart rushes in the offensive zone. I would say that Bahl's ceiling and closest comparable would be Colton Parayko -- a type of player the Devils have sorely needed for quite some time.
