Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
Smith is a big, strong, powerful left-shot defenseman who plays hard and can impact play in a variety of ways. He can skate pucks through the neutral zone. He has good edges opening up in the offensive zone. He’s strong through his pushes as a skater, regularly beating the first layer of pressure laterally. He walks the line proficiently and gets his shots through, opening up well. He can make plays in open ice. He can shoot the puck. He’s capable of playing the game firmly and even boldly at times. He has transition value. He’s competitive and strong. But his reads and processing still need some fine-tuning, he can skate himself into trouble, he can take bad routes defensively, and I’m not sold on him as a true power-play guy up levels. He has pretty much all of the makings of a top-four NHL defenseman, and he’s still got some untapped offensive and defensive upside. I just haven’t been able to fall in love with his game. I think the 40s is the appropriate range here.
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