Did this 2005 USNTDP forward crop deliver or what? After having to follow the 04’s I think most thought this was a much more average group. But in one of the strongest drafts in memory I think you have Smith who could absolutely go top 5 and Leonard, Moore and Perreault all with serious top 10 cases. I don’t think ALL of them will go quite that high but all four could realistically be gone by 15. That would be a quarter of the top of a high end draft made of USNTDP forwards.
C Will Smith - San Jose Sharks , NHL(2023, 4th, SJS)
- Thread starter GermanSpitfire
- Start date
Marc the Habs Fan
Moderator
1 goal and 4 assists tonight for the Fresh Prince against Madison.
PPG is now at 2.02...
I might be wrong but I think only Jack Hughes has had a better than 2 PPG for an age 17 season at the USNTDP.
It should be said after tonight's game that his teammate Gabe Perreault is at 2.04 PPG.
PPG is now at 2.02...
I might be wrong but I think only Jack Hughes has had a better than 2 PPG for an age 17 season at the USNTDP.
It should be said after tonight's game that his teammate Gabe Perreault is at 2.04 PPG.
Ulysses31
Registered User
starting 2023 draft research and looks like DRW would be lucky if smith drops to 10th
LePerilsofPerreault
Registered User
jackjohnson
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- Feb 9, 2021
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Hope Canucks draft this kid. He could be in the spot where Canucks can get him similar to Hughes and Pettersson.
Pettersson, Miller and Smith would make for a very deep center position in 2 to 3 years time. Could have Pettersson and Kuzy on one line and Miller and Smith on another line.
Canucks will snag him just like how the sangged Hughes from the Wings lol. I feel Bedard, Fantili, Mitchkov, Carlsson would go in top 5 while Smith could be a 5 to 10 pick.
MichaelFarrell
Registered User
This is definitely one of the best U18 teams I’ve ever seen. That first line is perfectly constructed and the combination of skill and chemistry has been ridiculous all year.
The funny thing is the depth of this team isn’t remarkable compared to other years. Moore, Smith, Leonard, Perreault, maybe Nelson, and maybe Minnetian should go in the first two rounds. But, after that who knows. These players just knew their roles and they played hard. The bottom-six players especially just play hard and really grind.
Guzzo, Cerrato, Will Vote, and Ryan Fine will probably not make the NHL, but they have been good all year in their roles imo.
MicronMega
Registered User
Perrault-Smith-Leonard is one hell of a line. Leonard is the work horse on that line for sure. It would be nice to see the other two work as hard as him and Moore. But, they are different players with elite skill and vision.
Marc the Habs Fan
Moderator
2 goals and 3 assists tonight to hit the century mark.
Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the hockey prince of a town called (blank)
Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the hockey prince of a town called (blank)
I think this is going to be a big issue for clubs debating Smith.
Why does he cherrypick so much, and put so little effort in away from the puck?
Sometimes prospects need time to fill out and get endurance, I've wondered about that with both Smith and Sale actually. Workrate is a function of both conditioning and internal drive. The conditioning part can be forgiven for kids. But the lack of care is hard to understand for me, and I think teams find it off-putting. Players who aren't that passionate about hockey and about winning can be problems later on.
Quite a stupid and nonsensical post.
"..lack of care.."
"Players who aren't passionate about hockey..."
lol
The only debate for teams will be do you walk or run to the podium if Smith is still there at 6 overall.
rt
Clean Hits on Substack
I guess around here it is "stupid and nonsensical" to talk about things like effort and how driven players are.
Teams care about this stuff. They check off passion and drive just like they would check off skating or skill. And they will have to figure out how fixable it is when they watch video like this:
95snipes
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- Dec 11, 2019
- 1,110
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I could only get through about 5 minutes of that first video and didn't even bother to watch the second one. Most if not all of those critiques weren't even valid or were completely baseless. Don't agree with the creator of that video at all and would question their knowledge of the game.
2:35 "Other team has the puck he heads as far away as possible". No it was a controlled breakout, Smith's curling as he should be, puck goes to Ryan Fine and all he has to do is chip the puck to space and Smith is gone. Or honestly Minnetian hits Smith streaking since Fine was covered. Fine gets the puck skates backward and gives it back to Minnetian who then turns the puck over. Not on Smith. He acts like he's standing in the neutral zone just waiting for a pass, which was not the case at all.
3:20 "Typicallly it's the winger who covers the slot, but in Smith's case it almost always a winger... this time Perreault". No this was a play off the rush and typically the F3 is going to be the first man back. In this case it was Ryan Fine, not Perreault. It happens all the time at any level. Perrault is even with Smith on the backcheck, both in the correct position.
3:46 Perrault takes a shot, Smith gets the rebound behind the net and tries a chip to himself to separate from the defense. Results in a turnover, but you can see what Smith was going for. Content creator pauses it and writes "Not much battle here". Lol what kind of analysis is that.
I could very easily make a video critiquing Fantilli's game and every play he makes if we want to nitpick to that extreme.
I also watched that game against Madison and remember it distinctly because I thought it was Smith's worst game I've seen him play. Most games he wows me but that game was a tough one for his line.
All I know is Smith's offensive creativity, hands, and IQ are some of the best in the draft and the package screams number 1 center if you ask me. Made for today's game.
Not a popular take but I had the same reaction to watching Will Smith earlier in the year as the Recrutes analyst did.
No question he's magic with the puck but I don't think his NHL coach will put him at center. He's usually last man back and very passive. Like he's out of gas from the start.
Ryan Van Horne
aka Scribe
2 G, 1 A tonight including this beauty.
ManByng
Oilers cup 2025
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Teams obsess over compete level, it's not new.
Anaheim4ever
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- Jun 15, 2017
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Didn't someone once say that was a concern teams had about Adam Henrique in his draft year, that he lacked passsion etc?
He did end up getting waived a few years ago because of his lack of compete level.
He turned into a pretty good player and has had a good career.
River Meadow
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- Mar 29, 2016
- 6,994
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Big Willie Style baby.
Na na na na na na na,
Na na na na na na,
Gettin' Jiggy wit it.
Nico Cauzuki
Registered User
Goon42
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- Apr 12, 2013
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STL fan in MN
Registered User
- Aug 16, 2007
- 7,712
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A 6’0” center over a 5’10” winger? Yes.
Dylan Strome over Mtich Marner was a good decision.
Nico Cauzuki
Registered User
BPA always i dont care about size remember when Arizona took Strome over Marner ?
Lol same time
