Awesome play
Aidan Hreschuk. Defenseman taken in the third round once upon a time (2021), but now hardly even on the third line for BC.
He could never score for a smaller guy, so not surprised.
French Canadian American Nikita K
At the time I wanted the Hawks to take GP at 19 instead of Moore and that has only been reinforced with time. How good would Perreault and Bedard be on the powerplay? At least I drafted Gabe on my fantasy team which to be honest I care more about!
I don't disagree, the pace will be something that he will have to get acclimated to. I do think he has the IQ to work through it. But yes, he won't be able to walk around the offensive zone in the NHL the same way he does vs AIC
That was my main issue with his game last year. That line had a lot of quick strike rush plays and he usually can time his skating to get into open ice but there were times where you could see him get into a contested rush against backcheckers that he probably just would not win against versus stronger/faster NHL level competition. Could see him still be very good at the NHL level though and be like a Toffoli who isn't very fast but has a great sense of timing and does a good job in tight spaces. He does work hard on the boards and I think that'll take him far.
Smith probably should have seen some time in the AHL but the Sharks want to sell tickets with him and Celebrini coming in together. I wouldn't be shocked to see Gabe spend next year in Hartford with a couple call-ups, maybe they re-sign Reilly Smith for another year as a placeholder so GP can develop, and then give him a shot in 2026-27
Smith won't be re-signed unless maybe he's willing to take 1 mil or less. We simply won't have the cap space, and we have plenty of winger prospects to take his place.
