LD Jackson Smith - Tri-City Americans, WHL (2025 Draft)

GermanSpitfire

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Jul 20, 2020
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Probably the first defender off the board in the 2022 WHL Bantam draft. Smith plays with an edge and uses his mobility to move well around the ice. He is good at covering his gaps and stopping zone entries. He is physical and uses his stick well to separate players from the puck. His shot from the point is intimidating and does a goo job using his vision to create good outlet passes. It’ll be interesting to see how he progresses moving forward!

WHL Rights: Tri City Americans

 
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Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
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He has a lot of potential. I think he'll be a first or second round pick just on his potential. He's 6'3, a very good skater with a considerable puck game. But he makes too many defensive mistakes. He needs to learn to eliminate those, and then he can be very good. If he does, he can be an early first round pick. I don't think that can be ruled out.
 

hockeykid87

Registered User
Apr 7, 2008
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Had just 6 points in the first 25 games of the year. 13 points in 17 games since then. Ever since he scored his first goal on New Year's Eve the points have come flooding in. Incredibly confident with the puck all over the ice. This kid's gonna be a superstar in the WHL for the next three years.
 

landy92mack29

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May 5, 2014
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He’s going to probably be the second WHL player picked this season after McQueen. I think he’ll be in the mix also for second defensemen taken after Schaefer. His defense is getting better and he has the size, skating, and offensive capabilities already to be a two way first pair NHL’er with time.
Yeah I thought he showed really good growth in the Hlinka from work he did over the summer and is poised for a big year in Tri-City, especially now that he's the guy on the blue line with Dragicevic gone. He'll have to show it in the upcoming season but he has the look of a top 10 pick with his size/skill/physicality combo
 

Hockeyville USA

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Dec 30, 2023
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Interested to see what his development path will be going forward: will he choose to go to the NCAA at some point, what will the CHL-NHL Agreement look like in terms of when he could go to the A if he signs, etc.

Really impressed me at the Hlinka Gretzky, he's firmly in my top 15, pushing for top 10.
 
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Hockeyville USA

Registered User
Dec 30, 2023
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Central Ohio
Exactly as he is the prototypical #1 Dman type that teams are looking to build their back end around for a deep.playoff run.

Much more than the numbers here.
I see a good amount of Shea Theodore in Smith's game. Maybe there's a better comparison that the Dub watchers/those who live in Dub territory could make, but that's who I thought of when watching the Hlinka Gretzky.
 
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landy92mack29

Registered User
May 5, 2014
27,761
3,463
saskatchewan
I see a good amount of Shea Theodore in Smith's game. Maybe there's a better comparison that the Dub watchers/those who live in Dub territory could make, but that's who I thought of when watching the Hlinka Gretzky.
Theodore is a pretty good one but Smith is quite a bit more physical, otherwise close.
 

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