C Will Smith - Boston College, NCAA (2023, 4th, SJS)

[wetcoast]

3 point night, giving him 8 points in five games so far to lead BC. He’s gotten noticeably better and more confident each game. He’s so good at forcing turnovers on the forecheck.

Sky is the limit.

Finally something that San Jose fans can get excited about after some tough times.

 

[coooldude]

He was apparently pretty invisible/bad in the 2nd game on Saturday. Which might support the idea that he needs to work on fitness/conditioning, like most freshmen/18yo's coming in. Will be interesting to see if he can do better this coming weekend in the 2nd game.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I don’t think they’ll be a line at the World Juniors. It’s a 19 year old tournament. 18 year olds better be great or be prepared to play depth roles.

Thank the gods!! Gotta break them up, force them to adapt. Who do they think they are, the Sedins?!!

 

[coooldude]

Smith had one assist and 1/9 faceoffs in a lackluster Friday showing. I saw him seem very lethargic in 2nd period, others saw him play a bit better in the 3rd but a bit invisible.

Today, he had 1G/1A and looked a lot better. still 1/9 on FO's, but was more visible, good forechecking, a few decent defensive zone shutdowns, seems to be ahead of the play a fair amount.

The journey continues.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

Happens. Probably went on a Thursday night bender. Takes a few days to bounce back from those but they’re good for your development in the long run.

 

[mphmiles]

Unreal shot fake into the pass here. 19 points in 13 games. That whole freshman line is one of the most fun lines to watch in hockey, anywhere, right now.

 

[sigx15]

I don’t think they’ll be a line at the World Juniors. It’s a 19 year old tournament. 18 year olds better be great or be prepared to play depth roles.

They weren't together this summer. It'll be interesting to see how they are handled at the WJC especially with McGroaty most likely out

 

[Makoshark]

Crazy how little press Smith gets because he's a highlight machine. Wouldn't be surprised to see him push for top 3 in NCAA scoring with those linemates as the year goes on...

 

[mphmiles]

They weren't together this summer. It'll be interesting to see how they are handled at the WJC especially with McGroaty most likely out

I think it'd be a mistake to split them up. Yes, the WJC is a 19 year old's tournament, but college hockey is an older player's league for the most part as well, and they're dominating this year.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

They weren't together this summer. It'll be interesting to see how they are handled at the WJC especially with McGroaty most likely out

I think it's more likely if McGroarty is out (and no Cooley), but the last update I saw suggested McGroarty is closer to questionable than out or doubtful.

 

[LilLeeroy]

Crazy how little press Smith gets because he's a highlight machine. Wouldn't be surprised to see him push for top 3 in NCAA scoring with those linemates as the year goes on...

I mean he is a top 4 pick that has been the 3rd best player on his line this season.

 

[William H Bonney]

I mean his is a top 4 pick that has been the 3rd best player on his line this season.

Inaccurate

 

[coooldude]

Today's game: the freshman line was mostly shut down. Leonard's goals were just after PP/PK's so the lines were mixed. His first goal I think just bounced in off his body, his second goal was a rebound finish off a 2 on 1 shot.

Smith looked extremely dangerous during one PP, hitting inside post once, another shot squeaked thru and was almost buried, and he made a couple very nice high danger passes. He had a wide open cage off a Perreault pass on a 2 on 1 and shot it too far back into the scrambling goalie... should have been a goal. Otherwise, they put together a couple other chances but nothing too notable. Smith looked pretty disinterested in the D zone, mostly floating and not really playing active C defense.

 

[PAZ]

Today's game: the freshman line was mostly shut down. Leonard's goals were just after PP/PK's so the lines were mixed. His first goal I think just bounced in off his body, his second goal was a rebound finish off a 2 on 1 shot.

Smith looked extremely dangerous during one PP, hitting inside post once, another shot squeaked thru and was almost buried, and he made a couple very nice high danger passes. He had a wide open cage off a Perreault pass on a 2 on 1 and shot it too far back into the scrambling goalie... should have been a goal. Otherwise, they put together a couple other chances but nothing too notable. Smith looked pretty disinterested in the D zone, mostly floating and not really playing active C defense.

Would you say Smith has been as advertised and warrant of the 4th overall pick? Surprisingly not much hype around him, I see more criticism than anything for a rookie that has 22 pts in 16 games.

 

[coooldude]

Would you say Smith has been as advertised and warrant of the 4th overall pick? Surprisingly not much hype around him, I see more criticism than anything for a rookie that has 22 pts in 16 games.

Opinions on the Sharks boards are mixed, and I would never claim to speak definitively.

Everyone generally knew that Smith was a tier below the top 3, so it's not too surprising (but it is a bit depressing) to see how well the top three picks are doing in the NHL.

that said, many folks believe that Smith is driving the play on the freshman line, or at least is a very important component of it, at BC, and his production is still exciting...

That said, his weaknesses are evident. He's not particularly strong in his own zone, and he often appears to be floating (some of us see that as he's ahead of the play and looking for opportunities, others see it as lazy or disinterested)...

Everyone agrees that he's dangerous on the power play. Everyone also agrees that he seems to need to work on his top skating speed and general strength, with some folks thinking that's a natural thing to work on and others being more worried.

Some people think he's still got a really high ceiling, others think he will be best on the wing in the NHL, others think he's tracking more as a complementary 2C, and still others think he looks like a bust whose game won't translate. Everyone agrees it's likely going to take longer for him to be NHL ready than many of the other top prospects.

Most people think it was the right pick at 4OA, and a handful think we should have taken Michkov regardless of whether he would have agreed to play for us or not, because he would have been a trade asset.

I personally think he's tracking as a complementary 2C (and like everyone I'm hoping for Celebrini or a different top end 1C in the next 3 drafts) and I think he needs to figure out how to get stronger, faster, and build a better 2 way game if he wants his ceiling to be higher than that. I don't personally agree that he looks like the worst of his 3 linemates, where Leonard plays very directly but isn't better in any area except hits, net front play, and board battles, and Perreault is very good with Smith but not necessarily creating without him. I personally think he looks like just as good a prospect as Gauthier, who is more of an NHL body and has a heavy shot but plays like a bit of a meat head out there where Smith's offensive hockey IQ is very high as advertised.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Opinions on the Sharks boards are mixed, and I would never claim to speak definitively.

Everyone generally knew that Smith was a tier below the top 3, so it's not too surprising (but it is a bit depressing) to see how well the top three picks are doing in the NHL.

that said, many folks believe that Smith is driving the play on the freshman line, or at least is a very important component of it, at BC, and his production is still exciting...

That said, his weaknesses are evident. He's not particularly strong in his own zone, and he often appears to be floating (some of us see that as he's ahead of the play and looking for opportunities, others see it as lazy or disinterested)...

Everyone agrees that he's dangerous on the power play. Everyone also agrees that he seems to need to work on his top skating speed and general strength, with some folks thinking that's a natural thing to work on and others being more worried.

Some people think he's still got a really high ceiling, others think he will be best on the wing in the NHL, others think he's tracking more as a complementary 2C, and still others think he looks like a bust whose game won't translate. Everyone agrees it's likely going to take longer for him to be NHL ready than many of the other top prospects.

Most people think it was the right pick at 4OA, and a handful think we should have taken Michkov regardless of whether he would have agreed to play for us or not, because he would have been a trade asset.

I personally think he's tracking as a complementary 2C (and like everyone I'm hoping for Celebrini or a different top end 1C in the next 3 drafts) and I think he needs to figure out how to get stronger, faster, and build a better 2 way game if he wants his ceiling to be higher than that. I don't personally agree that he looks like the worst of his 3 linemates, where Leonard plays very directly but isn't better in any area except hits, net front play, and board battles, and Perreault is very good with Smith but not necessarily creating without him. I personally think he looks like just as good a prospect as Gauthier, who is more of an NHL body and has a heavy shot but plays like a bit of a meat head out there where Smith's offensive hockey IQ is very high as advertised.

I'd say this is mostly fair (FWIW, he won't bust), but the most alarming thing I'd say about his game at the NCAA level has been the number of high OZ/NZ turnovers he's had and I haven't loved his decision making on the whole either. He's had moments where he flashes some really high end shit but there have as many if not more where he just does something really dumb.

I DO think that his stronger performances have been more recent (excellent in the ND game and very good in the 2nd game vs. Northeastern) so perhaps hes in the process of figuring it out but the adjustment hasn't been as smooth for him as it has for his line mates.

He hasn't been awful - You can't be awful and have his line be as productive as its been (and it should be even more productive, all 3 of the members of that line have beefed their share of gimmies) but if theres someone who is being carried of that trio its been him (Leonard has been driving that line if anyone - He's been phenomenal despite being the least productive of the 3.) I'd categorize his performance as a mixed bag to this point but despite that, he's still been pretty productive (which IS a good sign.)

Inaccurate

To this point in the season its spot on.

 

[William H Bonney]

To this point in the season its spot on.

It's not. You're just letting draft position and your favorite NHL team influence your evaluation.

He's had his ups and downs just like his linemates so far and they've all had their moments being the driver on their line. But more often than not, it's Leonard or Smith as the guy on that line.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

It's not. You're just letting draft position and your favorite NHL team influence your evaluation.

He's had his ups and downs just like his linemates so far and they've all had their moments being the driver on their line. But more often than not, it's Leonard or Smith as the guy on that line.

Not at all. If that were the case I'd be saying that it's Perreault carrying that line and has been far and away the best of the 3 (its been Leonard, who basically looks like a pro playing with and against a bunch of kids right now.)

If theres anyone who can't let go of draft position and their inherent bias, its you. I thought Smith was the best of the 3 and deserved top 3 consideration last year. However, he hasn't played up to that standard this year. He's probably turned the puck over more than his line mates have combined (If it's not true it's damn near close.) I also think playing at this level has brought me around to questioning just how "high" his hockey IQ is but thats another conversation entirely.

I've seen almost all of BC's games this year too so I'm not judging this based off of 2 or 3 viewings either. He's been a very frustrating watch but as I said earlier, I think hes been better recently.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I think the problem with trying to evaluate all 3 of Smith, Leonard, and Perrault is that they're doing the same thing as last year...together again...and they probably will be at the WJC as well. If we really want to see who is relying on who/which one is the "best", they need to be separated, which at this point is looking like will be at the NHL/AHL level.

 

[William H Bonney]

Not at all. If that were the case I'd be saying that it's Perreault carrying that line and has been far and away the best of the 3 (its been Leonard, who basically looks like a pro playing with and against a bunch of kids right now.)

If theres anyone who can't let go of draft position and their inherent bias, its you. I thought Smith was the best of the 3 and deserved top 3 consideration last year. However, he hasn't played up to that standard this year. He's probably turned the puck over more than his line mates have combined (If it's not true it's damn near close.) I also think playing at this level has brought me around to questioning just how "high" his hockey IQ is but thats another conversation entirely.

I've seen almost all of BC's games this year too so I'm not judging this based off of 2 or 3 viewings either. He's been a very frustrating watch but as I said earlier, I think hes been better recently.

You're not saying that because it's obvious that Perreault isn't doing that as he's not a line driver at all.

Leonard is impressive but the line and players and their roles don't look different than they were last season playing NCAA teams.

I couldn't care less about draft position. But either you're new to this line and Smith if you think his turnovers are some revelation, or you're unfairly expecting a player to have fixed all the deficiencies in their game in a couple of months just because they went higher in the draft than their linemates. Yes, Smith has things he needs to improve on, as everyone who's followed him knew. No he hasn't completely fixed them in less than 3 months. No, that doesn't he's not meeting expectations.

 

[coooldude]

Not at all. If that were the case I'd be saying that it's Perreault carrying that line and has been far and away the best of the 3 (its been Leonard, who basically looks like a pro playing with and against a bunch of kids right now.)

[...]

I've seen almost all of BC's games this year too so I'm not judging this based off of 2 or 3 viewings either. He's been a very frustrating watch but as I said earlier, I think hes been better recently.

I've also watched almost all of BC's games or at the very least most of the freshman line's shifts and the PP's. I don't agree that Leonard looks so head and shoulders above everyone else, maybe it's a stylistic difference in evaluation. Gauthier looks like the pro, physically and in his tools, except he doesn't play smart like a pro, just hammers it at the net.

Leonard plays a very direct style, north-south, he's making more hits, he's digging pucks out, and he's driving to net front a lot more. But he's not actually creating all the chances (yes, he creates some, of course, he's having a great year). All of them are working well together with very different styles, as they have been for years.

Smith's style is very much more architect than shit stirrer, so he is less obvious on the ice. Sometimes this makes him invisible, sometimes it means his play is the reason there's a scoring chance at all. Sometimes he's caught in the wrong spot because the college game is so fast-paced, mistake-laden, turnover-heavy. This could mean his game will translate better when he's playing with better players (hopeful for Smith fans!), or it could mean he's failing to completely dominate the next level up (oh shit, bad news!) Truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but I just don't agree that he's getting carried by Leonard.

 

[LilLeeroy]

I'd say this is mostly fair (FWIW, he won't bust), but the most alarming thing I'd say about his game at the NCAA level has been the number of high OZ/NZ turnovers he's had and I haven't loved his decision making on the whole either. He's had moments where he flashes some really high end shit but there have as many if not more where he just does something really dumb.

I DO think that his stronger performances have been more recent (excellent in the ND game and very good in the 2nd game vs. Northeastern) so perhaps hes in the process of figuring it out but the adjustment hasn't been as smooth for him as it has for his line mates.

He hasn't been awful - You can't be awful and have his line be as productive as its been (and it should be even more productive, all 3 of the members of that line have beefed their share of gimmies) but if theres someone who is being carried of that trio its been him (Leonard has been driving that line if anyone - He's been phenomenal despite being the least productive of the 3.) I'd categorize his performance as a mixed bag to this point but despite that, he's still been pretty productive (which IS a good sign.)



To this point in the season its spot on.

Smith is just weird, some games he can't win a foot race to save his life while other games he is blowing by defenders and his skating looks great.

Production is definitely down from last season, but still a lot of time to turn it around.

 

[William H Bonney]

Smith is just weird, some games he can't win a foot race to save his life while other games he is blowing by defenders and his skating looks great.

Production is definitely down from last season, but still a lot of time to turn it around.

This is such an odd take. Yeah, his production is down, as it is for his linemates and basically all players as they move up the ranks.

If your expectations were that Smith was going to average 2.12 points per game again it's your expectations that are the problem.

He has 22 points in 16 games this year, tied for 7th in NCAA scoring. His production is fine.

And just to level set as I can already imagine it coming, if your expectations are that he has to light up the WJC too, your expectations are off.

 

[LilLeeroy]

This is such an odd take. Yeah, his production is down, as it is for his linemates and basically all players as they move up the ranks.

If your expectations were that Smith was going to average 2.12 points per game again it's your expectations that are the problem.

He has 22 points in 16 games this year, tied for 7th in NCAA scoring. His production is fine.

And just to level set as I can already imagine it coming, if your expectations are that he has to light up the WJC too, your expectations are off.

I mean his production against NCAA teams was higher with the NTDP in his draft year than it is right now. Sure those were exhibition games, but I think it's still more than fair to say his production is down from last year. His PNHLe last year was 109 and this year he is down to 81 right now.

 

[William H Bonney]

I mean his production against NCAA teams was higher with the NTDP in his draft year than it is right now. Sure those were exhibition games, but I think it's still more than fair to say his production is down from last year. His PNHLe last year was 109 and this year he is down to 81 right now.

No, it's not. It's night and day the way college hockey teams approach the exhibitions against the NTDP versus real games.