Brendan smith

DRL

Registered User
Mar 2, 2003
4,653
271
Brampton, Ontario
How has he looked since coming back from the injury?

Big things were expected from this year and the numbers aren't there.

Even the pims are low(which is a good thing). But he was forecasted as a chelios type who was nasty and racked up pim.

He is just playing a stay at home style and not getting chances?

On the depth chart where does he rank right now?
 

Run the Jewels

Make Detroit Great Again
Jun 22, 2006
13,819
1,751
In the Garage
How has he looked since coming back from the injury?

Big things were expected from this year and the numbers aren't there.

Even the pims are low(which is a good thing). But he was forecasted as a chelios type who was nasty and racked up pim.

He is just playing a stay at home style and not getting chances?

On the depth chart where does he rank right now?

He was injured which has likely impacted his season to date. I started to see some good stuff from him on the power play over the past couple games. He's a guy who can be a force with the man advantage carrying the puck into the high slot area and either score or dish the puck.

He did get a penalty against Chicago which was one of those types of plays you talk about. He steered Patrick Sharp into the crossbar and they got into a pushing/punching match. Smith got the penalty. So I think we can definitely expect him to stand his ground and go toe to toe with guys if necessary.

So my guess is he'll start to produce offense pretty quickly now that he's back into the lineup. He's been solid in his own zone which has always been the concern ever since he was drafted.
 

Laser Rayzor

Cautiously Optimistic
Dec 8, 2012
4,256
32
The Underground
How has he looked since coming back from the injury?

Big things were expected from this year and the numbers aren't there.

Even the pims are low(which is a good thing). But he was forecasted as a chelios type who was nasty and racked up pim.

He is just playing a stay at home style and not getting chances?

On the depth chart where does he rank right now?

He's been decent defensively, making rookie mistakes as expected but overall defensively I'm pretty pleased with him. The only part of his game that is not showing right now is his offensive talent and that will come along soon enough.
He was thrown onto a team that desperately needed him to be a top 4 d (with a whopping 14 game NHL resume) and pressure is getting to him. Early on in the season he seemed to be extra careful and maybe a bit nervous about making a mistake, however recently he has been settling down in to his role and is starting to loosen up and look quite good. He's beginning to look like the Smith we saw last year, the chances are starting to come and sooner or later the points will come as well.
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
I think he has been fine and the offense will come. Something I have noticed all year even going back to the AHL is he seems a 1/2 step slower this year like maybe he put on too much weight too fast preparing for this year. I expect him to round that out, he has a ton of talent and he is plenty mean. Really like when they put Smith and Kindl together, think that could become a very legitimate pairing.

Smith does already skate the puck out of trouble better than anybody else on our backend.
 

RedWingsNow*

Guest
Even when he skates it out, he fumbles the puck -- second guessing himself because of the speed of the NHL, I'm guessing. He's going to make mistakes.
 

CloneHakanPlease*

Guest
He looked much more dangerous last year. Hopefully he returns to form.
 

joe89

#5
Apr 30, 2009
20,313
174
Not gonna be the year you hoped for with the lockout + injury. Still high on him.
 

nik jr

Registered User
Sep 25, 2005
10,798
7
He seems to me like he wants to be a forward.
That was my thought exactly yesterday. This guy wants to be a forward
i can't say what he wants, but he plays like a 4th F. he sometimes joins the rush ahead of some F's when the puck is on the defensive blueline. but i can't remember any particularly good offensive play by him. he looks like a more offensive minded and more aggressive kindl to me. both players try to skate the puck way from pressure in their own end too much, imo, but part of that is not enough support from F's.

i was able to see 1 or 2 games of him when he played for wisconsin, and he was great on PP.
 

RayMoonDoh

Outta Waiver Stuff
Nov 12, 2011
1,195
199
Shore Shack
He looks like a young Clydesdale out there. Big and strong and lots of energy, but clumsy as hell and not always the smartest.

I think hes gonna be a good one, but hes still a gem needs polishing.

Reminds me of a young labrador retreiver.
 
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Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
Jul 27, 2010
36,201
14,683
I think he has been fine and the offense will come. Something I have noticed all year even going back to the AHL is he seems a 1/2 step slower this year like maybe he put on too much weight too fast preparing for this year.

This is something I have noticed as well, especially tonight when he was recovering on a play and Quincey out-skated him to the same loose puck. Seemed like he moved a lot better last year when he was up. And I thought earlier this year in Griffins games he was just skating at 75%, but maybe he has put on a little weight or is dinged up?

Smith does already skate the puck out of trouble better than anybody else on our backend.

Kindl really is not far off, he skates a ton of pucks out of trouble. The two of them can make a lot of plays with their skating.
 

Edge of Sanity*

Guest
I think he's looked outstanding since returning from injury. Tonight in particular he was amazing. No qualms about him at all, he's doing everything I expected.
 

RedWinger10

Registered User
Feb 11, 2013
946
2
That was my thought exactly yesterday. This guy wants to be a forward

I don't think he has the skill set to play forward. But if they got Abby on Datsyuk's wing and still hasn't produced a damn thing why not. He can't be any worse than Abby.
 

14ari13

Registered User
Oct 19, 2006
14,035
1,167
Norway
I don't think he has the skill set to play forward. But if they got Abby on Datsyuk's wing and still hasn't produced a damn thing why not. He can't be any worse than Abby.

Even the boards can't be any worse than Abby. The boards have one goal. Abby??? None.:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 

Neon Phaneuf

Let the kids play
Apr 13, 2010
321
0
South Jersey
Smith looked very confident and moved the puck out of the zone well last night. His skating and escape moves are really impressing me. Lets hope he can get it going offensively again.
 

Huddy*

Registered User
Aug 6, 2009
2,641
0
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Smith is actually surprising me with his puck movement this early in his NHL career. Babs also really needs to consider using Smith on the #1 PP unit. He moved the puck so well against Chicago on the PP and same w last night vs. the Avs. Its nice to actually see his confidence keep growing night in and night out..
 

Brick Top

LANA!!!!!
Mar 2, 2012
1,847
0
Grand Rapids
His injury a few weeks ago was really frustrating because it seemed like he was just starting to hit his stride and play with more confidence after a poor start to the season. Well, I was frustrated by the timing of it, anyway, and really that's all I care about :laugh: (I'd guess Smitty wasn't thrilled either).

He played better last night, so hopefully he can keep it going and steadily improve. IMO, it's a confidence thing for him. He has the skill to be a good PMD and go end to end if the chance arises, but I think a lack of confidence makes him tentative a lot of the time with the puck and slows down his decision making. Could just be a personality thing, or maybe he's overly concerned with making mistakes given the general reaction from the coaching staff to young guys making mistakes.

I'm thinking that as his confidence increases, we'll see him carry the puck better and make better plays, and the snarl in his game will show more. I REALLY like that aspect in him- he's got the potential to be an actual mean defenseman, something we haven't really had in a long time.
 

Flowah

Registered User
Nov 30, 2009
10,249
547
The thing is, I think Smith reads hockey better than any other dman. His pinches last night were beautiful. Kindl pinches a lot, and while he holds the guy up usually and we retrieve the puck, he's gotten beat by it quite a few times.

Last night, Smith broke up three plays and transitioned two of them into good scoring chances. That is very encouraging to me. Hockey sense is the hardest thing to teach. And he's got it. In a couple years, this kid is gonna be a star. He's one of the best moving defensemen I've ever seen, and he's got good poise with the puck. I think he could overtake Kronwall for #1 in a few years.

We just have to see of last night was because we were playing a weak team or if he can do that consistently.
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
A big play that is back on display especially last night is when he just jumps the passing route at center ice. When he is on he does this three or four times a game. At the start of the year he was missing it some of the time, last night is more used to what I am seeing him do. I still think he lost maybe half a step and cannot figure out why. My assumption is he will get it back in off-season training and be just as lethal. He does a great job of shielding the puck and has just a great feel for escaping pressure. He is going to be very good.

Kronwall, Big E, Smith, Kindl, Ouellet, Sproul, Lashoff, Backman, and Marchenko the future is very bright on the backend, I firmly believe that. They could even add another top prospect there in June, although I lean towards drafting a couple centers in the first couple of rounds to be honest. But that depends on who is available.
 
Jul 30, 2005
17,660
4,588
I mean, what is location, really
A big play that is back on display especially last night is when he just jumps the passing route at center ice. When he is on he does this three or four times a game. At the start of the year he was missing it some of the time, last night is more used to what I am seeing him do. I still think he lost maybe half a step and cannot figure out why. My assumption is he will get it back in off-season training and be just as lethal. He does a great job of shielding the puck and has just a great feel for escaping pressure. He is going to be very good.

Kronwall, Big E, Smith, Kindl, Ouellet, Sproul, Lashoff, Backman, and Marchenko the future is very bright on the backend, I firmly believe that. They could even add another top prospect there in June, although I lean towards drafting a couple centers in the first couple of rounds to be honest. But that depends on who is available.
I think his skating is his biggest strength. When that's on display, he's a really effective player. This season he's gotten away from that a bit and you can see it in the reads he makes. He's used to being faster than he is.
 

Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
Jul 27, 2010
36,201
14,683
That was my thought exactly yesterday. This guy wants to be a forward

I guess you've never seen Erik Karlsson play. Or Kris Letang. Offensive D that can skate like to join the rush, it doesn't mean they want to play forward. It's usually guys who have great recovery speed so they can take some risks.
 

BeersHockey

Registered User
Jun 15, 2011
1,258
122
Chicago, IL
Smith is actually surprising me with his puck movement this early in his NHL career. Babs also really needs to consider using Smith on the #1 PP unit. He moved the puck so well against Chicago on the PP and same w last night vs. the Avs. Its nice to actually see his confidence keep growing night in and night out..

He needs to show that wants to shoot the puck. I like him paired with Kindl on the PP, but he defers to Kindl shooting the puck. I like how active he is moving on the point during the PP, but what sets him apart from similar energy guys in that position (like Doughty, for example - and no, I am not putting him on par with Doughty) is that Smith still looks too scared to get caught out of position on the PP, instead of making that aggressive play to get the puck to the net. Smith has great recovery speed and needs to learn to take those risks, when we have the man advantage. I think he is going to turn out real good (preaching to the choir, I know).

PS - I HATE that fake I-am-going-to-two-hand-you move he pulls like 5 times a game. He looks like a ****** when he does that.
 

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