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

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Briser la glace said:
+1, unless teams really want a RHD.
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Wouldn't personally draft an RD until at minimum the 15th spot or so this year even if drafting for needs vs. BPA.

My top-3 defensemen for this year's draft are all lefties (Schaefer, Smith, and Aitcheson), and personally I'd have Hensler still as the #1 RD but he'd only be 20th right now on my list (Fiddler 23rd, Mrtka 27th, no other RD in the top 32).

As for Smith, well, I just really like his fluidity in transition, his clarity of purpose offensively, his skating, his overall Hockey IQ, and the edge with which he plays the position.

In fact, I like him better this year than I liked Zeev Buium last year (and I had Buium 5th [after Celebrini, Demidov, Dickinson, and Levshunov] in my final 2024 list, that's how much I liked him) as I just think that fewer things need to "go right" for Smith to end up a top-pairing defenseman vs. Buium.

And when it comes to pure draft rankings, I'd have Smith at the 7th spot on my list right now (Schaefer would be my #1, and Aitcheson 18th for info).
 
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JadedRandom said:
Wouldn't personally draft an RD until at minimum the 15th spot or so this year even if drafting for needs vs. BPA.

My top-3 defensemen for this year's draft are all lefties (Schaefer, Smith, and Aitcheson), and personally I'd have Hensler still as the #1 RD but he'd only be 20th right now on my list (Fiddler 23rd, Mrtka 27th, no other RD in the top 32).

As for Smith, well, I just really like his fluidity in transition, his clarity of purpose offensively, his skating, his overall Hockey IQ, and the edge with which he plays the position.

In fact, I like him better this year than I liked Zeev Buium last year (and I had Buium 5th [after Celebrini, Demidov, Dickinson, and Levshunov] in my final 2024 list, that's how much I liked him) as I just think that fewer things need to "go right" for Smith to end up a top-pairing defenseman vs. Buium.

And when it comes to pure draft rankings, I'd have Smith at the 7th spot on my list right now (Schaefer would be my #1, and Aitcheson 18th for info).
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I agree, but we know how NHL teams work, last year all three righties went before the lefties.

Smith is the second best defenseman this year imo, and I don't have any RHD in my Top-15 either. But I wouldn't be surprised if Mrtka, Hensler and Fiddler all go between 7 and 14.

Smith would probably be ranked 4-6 on every list if he was a RHD.
 
Juxtaposer said:
Tell me one good reason not to rank him fifth.
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I value both Desnoyers and Frondell slightly more than Smith right now given how complete they are, and how they could both develop into high-end matchup centers with good offensive potential to boot. They'd be my #5 and #6 picks as of this moment.

Aside from that though, I've got nothing.

Smith is an incredible prospect and I like his game more than that of the Eklunds, Schmidts, Spences, and Lakovics of the world.
 
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I think he'll be a motivated guy for the rest of the season coming in 9th for Central Scouting.
 
Play hasn't been as strong since the new year. Still only at 2 goals. Wouldn't be surprised is Mrtka starts passing him as the consensus 2nd dman in the class!
 
I don't see him as an offensive defenseman in the NHL. Most intriguing part about him is his lateral mobility with the 6'3 reach and great stamina, if he recognizes that as his strength, he could have a long career in the NHL strictly from that combination as he could deny zone entries and steer the play out of trouble all day long. His IQ seems more B than A, which is why he won't be Miro Heiskanen, but he has the chance to be really good at: entry-denials, recovery, first pass/skate out and holding offensive blueline. I like that he tries to play with good pace and generally forward rather than laterally and delaying, but he does make some mistakes in those situations. His defensive zone coverage isn't great now either and he's not a big point shot guy.

Best case scenario I think you're looking at 20min a night #3-4 two-way guy with size and skating and a direct quick game, some physicality as well. Maybe tops out at 30ish pts max in that case. I think there will come a point where he will need to realize that's going to be his bread and butter at the next level though and start rounding his game into that while minimizing mistakes. If he had better IQ or a bigger point shot, it would be an easier time ranking him high, now it's more of a projection. But every defenseman in this class beyond Schaefer has major warts as well or a more limited upside.
 
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