Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?

Smith, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft, had a solid 16-year-old season in the WHL with Tri-City and made an impact in his minutes and role at the Hlinka, playing 18-19 minutes per game for Canada’s gold medal-winning squad. Last season, he tried to play a more aggressive and ambitious offensive style and drove more offense while playing big minutes (23-24 per game) for the Americans. I’ve always had a bit of a tough time with him and his game, though. It can be pretty high-event hockey at both ends at times (for better and worse), and while he has all of the physical attributes and has made some high-end plays in junior, I’ve questioned his hockey IQ both in moving pucks under pressure out of his zone and in defending. I thought he struggled at times with his decision-making and man-to-man defense at U18 Worlds as well. There are a lot of appealing attributes, though, and he should be well-positioned at Penn State to learn the game and develop into his tools.

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