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

[samsagat]

I want the Habs to draft him.

He has the smart, hands, vision and skating to be an elite center in the NHL

 

[Thechozen1]

Not a big hitter, but man can he SLAP!!!!!

 

[montreal]

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Season-high five points -- all assists -- in a 6-2 win over Madison Capitals.

Perreault Powers U18s Past Capitols, 6-2

Perreault nets four goals and adds an assist; Smith earns five points

www.usahockeyntdp.com

 

[majormajor]

I want the Habs to draft him.

He has the smart, hands, vision and skating to be an elite center in the NHL

Is he actually going to be a center? Whenever I see "the program" kids it looks like the Harlem Globetrotters running around carefree. It makes it hard to evaluate who can play what role in a pro context.

 

[SlafySZN]

I want the Habs to draft him.

He has the smart, hands, vision and skating to be an elite center in the NHL

Yeah he is my pick too if the habs draft around 5-6

 

[Postulates]

Ranked 3rd by Central Scouting in NA which I think seems fair

He's not Fantilli or Bedard, but I think he's comfortably ahead of the 3rd tier for NA

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Is he actually going to be a center? Whenever I see "the program" kids it looks like the Harlem Globetrotters running around carefree. It makes it hard to evaluate who can play what role in a pro context.

Good question. I had the same concern about Jack Hughes -- not about his offensive talent or whether he would make it, but about whether he could play centre in the NHL. Talent trumps size and he's turned out alright, although he still has some work to do on faceoffs. I think Smith transitioning to a centre in the NHL depends on two things -- coaching and willingness to learn. He definitely has the size and I think Smith has the athletic ability and processing ability to do it, from what I've seen.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

In reality Hughes is more a winger than a true cente

Good question. I had the same concern about Jack Hughes -- not about his offensive talent or whether he would make, but about whether he could play centre in the NHL. Talent trumps size and he's turned out alright. I think Smith transitioning to a centre in the NHL depends on two things -- coaching and willingness to learn. He definitely has the size and I think Smith has the athletic ability and processing ability to do it, from what I've seen.

Good question. I had the same concern about Jack Hughes -- not about his offensive talent or whether he would make, but about whether he could play centre in the NHL. Talent trumps size and he's turned out alright. I think Smith transitioning to a centre in the NHL depends on two things -- coaching and willingness to learn. He definitely has the size and I think Smith has the athletic ability and processing ability to do it, from what I've seen.

In reality Hughes is more of a winger than a center. For the most part Eric Haula handles the responsibilities in the defensive zone allowing Hughes to cheat out of the zone. Offensively he pretty much roams rather than playing a third-man high role.

Seems like this is common with a lot of the products of the NTDP.

Skill-wise and in terms or physical conditioning it is tough to match their development.

Tactically and in terms of the competitive aspects of the game, since the team is usually superior to the opposition, these areas of the game aren't as developed.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

In reality Hughes is more a winger than a true cente




In reality Hughes is more of a winger than a center. For the most part Eric Haula handles the responsibilities in the defensive zone allowing Hughes to cheat out of the zone. Offensively he pretty much roams rather than playing a third-man high role.

Seems like this is common with a lot of the products of the NTDP.

Skill-wise and in terms or physical conditioning it is tough to match their development.

Tactically and in terms of the competitive aspects of the game, since the team is usually superior to the opposition, these areas of the game aren't as developed.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing your insight.

 

[Jabba11]

Habs need to keep this kid on their radar. Very interesting skillset and reminds me a lot of Logan Cooley. Was also coached by Kent Hughes, so definitely a connection there. Let's see where he ends up by the end of the year. Might surpass Fantilli or Carlsson?

 

[SlafySZN]

Habs need to keep this kid on their radar. Very interesting skillset and reminds me a lot of Logan Cooley. Was also coached by Kent Hughes, so definitely a connection there. Let's see where he ends up by the end of the year. Might surpass Fantilli or Carlsson?

Hope not, shhh he needs to be there a #6 when the habs will draft

 

[WeThreeKings]

Habs need to keep this kid on their radar. Very interesting skillset and reminds me a lot of Logan Cooley. Was also coached by Kent Hughes, so definitely a connection there. Let's see where he ends up by the end of the year. Might surpass Fantilli or Carlsson?

Nah no way he surpasses them.

 

[miscs75]

I hope either LA or Philly drafts this kid.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

i think he goes fifth

1-Bedard
2-Carlsson
3-Fantilli
4-Michkov
5-Smith

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

i think he goes fifth

1-Bedard
2-Carlsson
3-Fantilli
4-Michkov
5-Smith

A fair prediction. Do you rank them in the same order, too?

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

A fair prediction. Do you rank them in the same order, too?

Yes i think Carlsson is better then Fantilli and Michkov drops because of the russian factor ( war, khl contract ) + Fantilli/Carlsson being big centers GMs drool over

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Yes i think Carlsson is better then Fantilli and Michkov drops because of the russian factor ( war, khl contract ) + Fantilli/Carlsson being big centers GMs drool over

I see. Where would you rank Michkov if he was say, a Finnish-Russian dual citizen like Barkov and playing in the SM-Liiga? No Russian factor* at all. I'm trying to get a sense of how you rank players' ability and potential rather than where you predict they'll go in the draft.

*By this I mean KHL contract or political considerations that might discourage an NHL team from spending a top-3 pick on him.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

I see. Where would you rank Michkov if he was say, Finnish-Russian dual citizen like Barkov and playing in the SM-Liiga? No Russian factor at all. I'm trying to get a sense of how you rank players' ability and potential rather than where you predict they'll go in the draft.

easily #2

Talent/Potentiel :

Bedard/Michkov ( would still take Connor at #1 but Matvei is close to Bedard )

Carlsson/Fantilli/Smith

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

easily #2

Talent/Potentiel :

Bedard/Michkov ( would still take Connor at #1 but Matvei is close to Bedard )

Carlsson/Fantilli/Smith

Cool, thanks. That's where I'd rank him, too and if I had the top pick I would have a tough decision. I'd want to do all my homework before making that call. Michkov is a special talent. Talent-wise, I have Bedard/Michkov as a duo, then Fantilli/Carlsson/Smith as the next trio. To steer the thread back to Smith, I was really hoping to see him get a chance to play at world juniors. It's too bad he got sick at the tryout camp. The more I see of him, the more impressed I am with his skill. Here he is with an improbable one-timer in the All-American Prospects Game last night.



One factor we can't forget in comparing Smith to Fantilli or Carlsson is the age difference. (Not the difference in actual months, which is only three) but the difference in hockey age. Fantilli and Carlsson are both late birthdays, so are considered 18-year-olds in their draft year with an extra year of hockey development. Ideally, we should be comparing them to 17yo draft eligible players by using what they did last year. That's how I do it anyway, with the benefit of being able to see a year ahead with the late birthdays.

 

[majormajor]

One factor we can't forget in comparing Smith to Fantilli or Carlsson is the age difference. (Not the difference in actual months, which is only three) but the difference in hockey age. Fantilli and Carlsson are both late birthdays, so are considered 18-year-olds in their draft year with an extra year of hockey development. Ideally, we should be comparing them to 17yo draft eligible players by using what they did last year. That's how I do it anyway, with the benefit of being able to see a year ahead with the late birthdays.

I'm not sure I understand the emphasis on this point. My understanding is that biological age is by far the more important factor, largely determining how much mental and physical runway they have left for development. Someone born in January will have a similar mental and physical development to someone born a month prior. And we're comparing players who all started playing hockey at different ages and played in leagues around the world with different age cutoffs and graduated from league to league at different times with different criteria for doing so.

You can't infer "hockey age" from birthday and even if you could it would still be unimportant relative to biological age.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I'm not sure I understand the emphasis on this point. My understanding is that biological age is by far the more important factor, largely determining how much mental and physical runway they have left for development. Someone born in January will have a similar mental and physical development to someone born a month prior. And we're comparing players who all started playing hockey at different ages and played in leagues around the world with different age cutoffs and graduated from league to league at different times with different criteria for doing so.

You can't infer "hockey age" from birthday and even if you could it would still be unimportant relative to biological age.

Except it does actually matter. Take Smith as an example. If he had been a December ‘04 birthday instead of a March ‘05 birthday, he’d be in the NCAA this year, meaning he’d be a year further into his development.

 

[majormajor]

Except it does actually matter. Take Smith as an example. If he had been a December ‘04 birthday instead of a March ‘05 birthday, he’d be in the NCAA this year, meaning he’d be a year further into his development.

He'd be playing in a better league (sort of, the program plays vs NCAA) but no, he wouldn't be a year further along in his development. He'd be a quarter of a year smarter and stronger and that's about it. I don't think you can compare across leagues and continents this way at all either. Like what would it even tell you about Smith vs Leo Carlsson?

 

[GermanSpitfire]

He'd be playing in a better league (sort of, the program plays vs NCAA) but no, he wouldn't be a year further along in his development. He'd be a quarter of a year smarter and stronger and that's about it. I don't think you can compare across leagues and continents this way at all either. Like what would it even tell you about Smith vs Leo Carlsson?

Growing up - in most countries, players play with, and against their own birth years. So I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that an ‘04 born late birthday is further along in his development.