So I've been watching the Spokane Chiefs game so far tonight. It's about halfway through the 2nd period. Smith has been extremely impressive in his reads and play-making. He's getting a whole lot of ice-time in all situations (top-pairing, PP, PK). I love how aggressive he's playing in joining offensive rushes. One particular play stands out. Spokane had just taken a 4 minute penalty, and Smith is out there on the PK. A Spokane forward had a short-handed breakaway opportunity and Smith jumped up to try to get a rebound. He ended up drawing a penalty. He's such a smart player.
On the powerplay, Smith is clearly the go-to guy. One area he could improve on is his shot velocity because teams definitely respect his shot, but they know he's much more of a pass-first guy. He distributes the puck really smoothly and can definitely run a Powerplay, especially a 1-3-1 one. He's not afraid to be aggressive in the offensive zone, including a toe-drag attempt that didn't lead to anything, but hey why not try it? One more thing of note was that on the powerplay, he had some incredible keep-ins as well as reads/pinches along the blueline.
He had a slow start to the game and got his pocket picked while skating the puck out of the defensive zone. He looked a bit too lackadaisical on that play, and has since corrected it. That being said, Smith should have at least two points already in this game. In the second period alone, he's created two high-danger scoring chances in the form of a backdoor pass in the offensive zone to a streaking forward in addition to a beautiful stretch pass through traffic to the tape of a forward on the breakaway. I haven't noticed him too much, defensively, which is a good thing. All in all, this game isn't out of the ordinary for Smith. His intelligence is so noticeable on the ice, and I still can't believe we managed to pick him.
Spokane just scored on the powerplay and Smith registered a secondary assist. He is absolutely the straw that stirs the drink in Spokane...and for anybody wondering, he is wearing the "C".