Prospect Info: 2023 draft 4th overall Will Smith

[Shark Finn]

Surely each and every player in the NHL is allowed to have preferred teams and to pursue playing for those teams. Definitely. But as for prospects, they should not worry about which team drafts them but instead worry about making the NHL.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[LadyStanley]

call from Hasso

 

[landshark]

Heh. Figured I'd leave it here too. I think he grazes her nose...

 

[STL Shark]

Ok, so every tech company with a market cap over USD10 billion creates a conglomerate with harsh rules.

It's called a union.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Any person using whatever leverage they have to get to their preferred place to work is fine by me. Chances are that this arrangement with the league is the most stable way to have a league and continue it on but it is a monopoly.

 

[slocal]

Keep it on topic, please.

 

[LadyStanley]

Haha

 

[CameronNeely]

Carlsson = Getzlaf
Fantilli = Tavares
Smith = Horvat

Smith was clearly the weakest center of the 3 (which is why I wasn't a fan of the pick), but they were both gone by that point so what can you do.

There are so many different skills in hockey in different roles. Not easy to compare players. I actually really like Smith. He is brilliant when on the puck. Exceptional vision, unpredictable and very nice puck skills. Understands the sequences and rhythm to create scoring chances with his linemates very well. Very hard to teach. Even though he has some finishing touch, he is at his best on a playmaking role. His development areas are easier to be worked on than the strengths that he has. Have mostly seen his international play though so limited in depth knowledge. Still I like what I see. Some rare qualities there.

 

[Jargon]

Haha

Smith looks like he’d be on lunchboxes in the 50s. “Wonderboy lunchbox, with mini hockey stick gift inside!”

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I wanted to give you guys my take on Smith. I don't have an original view of where he should've went. I ranked him 5th, and he went 4th. Only exception between the actual top 5 and mine was I had Michkov second. I think though that Smith's game is a little bit misunderstood.

You'll hear people say that Smith is comparable to Zegras or Kuznetsov or guys like that. And I'm not going to say that's entirely wrong. There are elements of those players to how I think he plays, but that's only based on how Smith has played in his U18 year. In his U17 year, he played a lot differently. He wasn't that much worse, just a little different style of hockey.

He was always the best forward or defenseman in that 2005 NTDP age group. It was obvious from the first game I saw in their U17 year, but Smith in his U17 year was more of an all-around guy. My comparison was Josh Norris. He had the big shot to score, but he also had the skating and the two way game and the good decision-making. These fancy passes people now see and ridiculous dangling, it wasn't as much a part of his game. He was still very skilled and pretty decent 1v1, but he wasn't pulling off these dangles as often and he didn't have this degree of passing ability.

In his U18 season, he seemed to become a much better passer and started becoming a little bit of that crazy dangler people know him as. I don't know if he tried to diversify his game on his own or it was a directive from the NTDP coaches to lean more offensive and take more risks, but he definitely started doing that. It came with more points and more highlight-reel plays. It also now gets him a lot of flack from some people that he doesn't play defense, but I think that view misunderstands his defensive ability. He definitely showed it in his U17 season. I'm not going to say there weren't times he cheated for offense in his U18 season, but I think the defensive ability is definitely there.

He just now needs to focus on combining the U17 season two-way game with the big shot and the U18 year of the crazy play-making/dangling into one player. I think he has it in him, and I think a lot of people don't realize that he's had big stretches over the last two seasons where he's actually been known for some of all these elements. Now it's a matter of putting them all together into a 1C. I think he has it in him. Wouldn't surprise me if the defensive game was missing a little last season because the coach asked him to try to lean more offensive on what was actually a rather weak offensive team for an NTDP age group. And also it obviously helps him get drafted higher. Points, not defense, gets you drafted high.

So I don't have any crazy hot-take about Smith. He went about where he should've, but I think there are facets to his game that are there that most people that only started following him within the last year or even the last couple of months might end up being surprised he has in him, if he can put it all together.

 

[coooldude]

I wanted to give you guys my take on Smith. I don't have an original view of where he should've went. I ranked him 5th, and he went 4th. Only exception between the actual top 5 and mine was I had Michkov second. I think though that Smith's game is a little bit misunderstood.

You'll hear people say that Smith is comparable to Zegras or Kuznetsov or guys like that. And I'm not going to say that's entirely wrong. There are elements of those players to how I think he plays, but that's only based on how Smith has played in his U18 year. In his U17 year, he played a lot differently. He wasn't that much worse, just a little different style of hockey.

He was always the best forward or defenseman in that 2005 NTDP age group. It was obvious from the first game I saw in their U17 year, but Smith in his U17 year was more of an all-around guy. My comparison was Josh Norris. He had the big shot to score, but he also had the skating and the two way game and the good decision-making. These fancy passes people now see and ridiculous dangling, it wasn't as much a part of his game. He was still very skilled and pretty decent 1v1, but he wasn't pulling off these dangles as often and he didn't have this degree of passing ability.

In his U18 season, he seemed to become a much better passer and started becoming a little bit of that crazy dangler people know him as. I don't know if he tried to diversify his game on his own or it was a directive from the NTDP coaches to lean more offensive and take more risks, but he definitely started doing that. It came with more points and more highlight-reel plays. It also now gets him a lot of flack from some people that he doesn't play defense, but I think that view misunderstands his defensive ability. He definitely showed it in his U17 season. I'm not going to say there weren't times he cheated for offense in his U18 season, but I think the defensive ability is definitely there.

He just now needs to focus on combining the U17 season two-way game with the big shot and the U18 year of the crazy play-making/dangling into one player. I think he has it in him, and I think a lot of people don't realize that he's had big stretches over the last two seasons where he's actually been known for some of all these elements. Now it's a matter of putting them all together into a 1C. I think he has it in him. Wouldn't surprise me if the defensive game was missing a little last season because the coach asked him to try to lean more offensive on what was actually a rather weak offensive team for an NTDP age group. And also it obviously helps him get drafted higher. Points, not defense, gets you drafted high.

So I don't have any crazy hot-take about Smith. He went about where he should've, but I think there are facets to his game that are there that most people that only started following him within the last year or even the last couple of months might end up being surprised he has in him, if he can put it all together.

I am really hoping you're right. I sort of generally feel like as long as a player works hard, they can learn how to play solid 2-way hockey. A player may not have a Selke in them if they haven't been known for 2-way hockey, but they can at least be passable.

It was only one game, but the prospect game showed, I think, a little bit of shock at the lack of space and ability to dance around the players, resulting in a lot of forced, low-probability flash plays. Hopefully all the scouting is true and he's a super hard, competitive worker and learns how to level up his game against better competition. But, if he has a mediocre year at BC, I'll start to get worried.

 

[Goldenhands]

As someone who watched the USNDTP alot last season, Smith's talent level is undeniable, his vision/playmaking are high end, has very good shooting/scoring skills (should get even better as he gains more strength), great offensive awarenesses as well . Areas he needs improvement:

1-Physical strength.

I know its true for most 18 yrs old kids, but for a top 5 pick, thats a bit concerning since he doesnt really fight much for pucks retrieval, I saw him lose plenty of 50/50 battles all through the year, he isnt much involved along the boards or engaged physically, Getting stronger is a priority before joining the pros, the good news is that he still has 2-3 yrs to add mass.

2-Motor and competitiveness without the puck

Smith's 200 ft game was very flawed in most of my viewings, he was really weak on pucks, very little forecheck and sometimes really painful backchecks, I dont know if his lack of physical strength impacted his stamina, but at times he was really frustrating to watch, will need to increase his motor thats for sure.

3-Defensive game and proper positioning.

If Smith wants to be a center at the NHL level, he will have to polish his game and avoid to cheat positionally. Too many times he looked careless or not really engaged defensively, other times you would see him cheat positionally waiting to get the puck in the neutral zone when his teammates were still not in control of it in their defensive end. I saw him cheat plenty of times leaving his position too early.

4-Puck management:

While Smith can do some incredible savant passes several times a game,, sometimes the highest % play will get the job done to maintain possession instead of trying a pass with low probabilities ending in turnovers. Kid will need to learn how to use his body properly in order to keep possession, because as you reach the next levels, there is less time and space to make plays, so hopefully he develop that part of his game after bulking up.

The good news is that he looked much more engaged at the U18 tournament than he was in league play and some of his issues can be fixed by getting stronger and learn to play more structured hockey as he climb up the levels.

 

[Hodge]

As someone who watched the USNDTP alot last season, Smith's talent level is undeniable, his vision/playmaking are high end, has very good shooting/scoring skills (should get even better as he gains more strength), great offensive awarenesses as well . Areas he needs improvement:

1-Physical strength.

I know its true for most 18 yrs old kids, but for a top 5 pick, thats a bit concerning since he doesnt really fight much for pucks retrieval, I saw him lose plenty of 50/50 battles all through the year, he isnt much involved along the boards or engaged physically, Getting stronger is a priority before joining the pros, the good news is that he still has 2-3 yrs to add mass.

2-Motor and competitiveness without the puck

Smith's 200 ft game was very flawed in most of my viewings, he was really weak on pucks, very little forecheck and sometimes really painful backchecks, I dont know if his lack of physical strength impacted his stamina, but at times he was really frustrating to watch, will need to increase his motor thats for sure.

3-Defensive game and proper positioning.

If Smith wants to be a center at the NHL level, he will have to polish his game and avoid to cheat positionally. Too many times he looked careless or not really engaged defensively, other times you would see him cheat positionally waiting to get the puck in the neutral zone when his teammates were still not in control of it in their defensive end. I saw him cheat plenty of times leaving his position too early.

4-Puck management:

While Smith can do some incredible savant passes several times a game,, sometimes the highest % play will get the job done to maintain possession instead of trying a pass with low probabilities ending in turnovers. Kid will need to learn how to use his body properly in order to keep possession, because as you reach the next levels, there is less time and space to make plays, so hopefully he develop that part of his game after bulking up.

The good news is that he looked much more engaged at the U18 tournament than he was in league play and some of his issues can be fixed by getting stronger and learn to play more structured hockey as he climb up the level.

The good news is that he looked much more engaged at the U18 tournament than he was in league play, so clearly, the potential is there, the talent level very

His flaws don't inspire much confidence that he will be a center at the NHL level. Hopefully he can shore up his board play enough to be an effective 1st line RW.

 

[Jargon]

His flaws don't inspire much confidence that he will be a center at the NHL level. Hopefully he can shore up his board play enough to be an effective 1st line RW.

Before jumping to snap judgements I’d like to see how he does this upcoming season in a bigger, harder league. There is certainly something to be said of his line being so outrageously good that he didn’t care to (and maybe wasn’t to) focus on anything other than offense. The fact that he elevated his play in those areas during the tournament bodes well. He seems like a really smart, competitive kid, and I’m sure he saw how much harder it was playing against big guys even in the scrimmage and I expect him to take all the measures to get better/stronger.

 

[Hodge]

Before jumping to snap judgements I’d like to see how he does this upcoming season in a bigger, harder league. There is certainly something to be said of his line being so outrageously good that he didn’t care to (and maybe wasn’t to) focus on anything other than offense. The fact that he elevated his play in those areas during the tournament bodes well. He seems like a really smart, competitive kid, and I’m sure he saw how much harder it was playing against big guys even in the scrimmage and I expect him to take all the measures to get better/stronger.

The vast majority of prospects drafted as centers end up on the wing in the NHL. It's not a knock on Smith to suggest he might follow the same path. He should be a core piece of our rebuild regardless but we will probably have to draft a legit 1C in one of the next few drafts in order to contend.

 

[gaucholoco3]

The vast majority of prospects drafted as centers end up on the wing in the NHL. It's not a knock on Smith to suggest he might follow the same path. He should be a core piece of our rebuild regardless but we will probably have to draft a legit 1C in one of the next few drafts in order to contend.

I see Smith as an outstanding scoring line soft assignment 2C behind a legit 1C (Macklin).

Smith taking soft assignments as a 2C would put up insane numbers.

 

[Cas]

I see Smith as an outstanding scoring line soft assignment 2C behind a legit 1C (Macklin).

Smith taking soft assignments as a 2C would put up insane numbers.

I had one of those half-awake dreams where we got both Celebrini and Misa in back-to-back drafts, thanks to a Karlsson-Penguins trade that went south really quickly for them.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I'm not too worried about him becoming a 1C. Jack Hughes doesnt play defense either and he's a 1C. The new era of hockey is like that where you don't need your 1C to do absolutely everything. In fact, depth is more important. And you do need abundant guys on defense who can make the first pass.

 

[Sendhelplease]

I would imagine the way that Smith plays defense and prevents goals will be by being smarter than everyone else on the ice and keeping possession of the puck. I do wonder if it would be good for him to be separated from Perrault and Leonard in college so he can play on a line that won't be dominant and he has to develop his defensive game further.

 

[Jargon]

The vast majority of prospects drafted as centers end up on the wing in the NHL. It's not a knock on Smith to suggest he might follow the same path. He should be a core piece of our rebuild regardless but we will probably have to draft a legit 1C in one of the next few drafts in order to contend.

I’m not saying you’re wrong I’m just saying I want to give him some time to develop before definitely saying he won’t be a 1C. I think, the likeliest scenario is he’s a 2C behind, yeah, someone we draft in the next two drafts, but I don’t want to count him out until I see how he develops with an NHL team giving him assignments on what to work on, etc.

 

[Hodge]

I’m not saying you’re wrong I’m just saying I want to give him some time to develop before definitely saying he won’t be a 1C. I think, the likeliest scenario is he’s a 2C behind, yeah, someone we draft in the next two drafts, but I don’t want to count him out until I see how he develops with an NHL team giving him assignments on what to work on, etc.

For sure, the most important thing is just being patient with his development and leaving him at BC until he gets stronger and takes some of the lower percentage plays out of his game. But even if Smith tops out as a point per game top line wing who can take faceoffs in a pinch that's still a fine outcome.

 

[one2gamble]

He hasn't really been asked to play defense yet so I think you guys are jumping to some projections that can't be made until after this year

 

[Painful Quandary]

I'm not too worried about him becoming a 1C. Jack Hughes doesnt play defense either and he's a 1C. The new era of hockey is like that where you don't need your 1C to do absolutely everything. In fact, depth is more important. And you do need abundant guys on defense who can make the first pass.

Jack Hughes has Selke-level center how does the heavy lifting. That is something the Sharks should hope they can develop or be lucky enough to draft. That is the only way a guy like Smith can be a 1C. This is a big part of the reason I am not thrilled with the pick due to how many holes the Sharks have and the likelihood of him having to play above his head.

 

[Hodge]

Jack Hughes has Selke-level center how does the heavy lifting. That is something the Sharks should hope they can develop or be lucky enough to draft. That is the only way a guy like Smith can be a 1C. This is a big part of the reason I am not thrilled with the pick due to how many holes the Sharks have and the likelihood of him having to play above his head.

I'm not thrilled with the pick either but who else were we supposed to take? Michkov likely didn't want to play here. Benson and Leonard are guaranteed wingers while there's at least a chance Smith will play a much more valuable position. Personally I would have probably taken Reinbacher but that's a tough sell at 4th overall. It's unfortunate that Anaheim took Carlsson or else I think he would have fallen to us.