{"id":26496,"date":"2018-04-04T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=26496"},"modified":"2018-06-22T11:02:56","modified_gmt":"2018-06-22T15:02:56","slug":"ty-smith-scouting-report-2018-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/04\/04\/ty-smith-scouting-report-2018-nhl-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Ty Smith Scouting Report: 2018 NHL Draft #10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2018 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/lastwordbkerr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">follow me on Twitter<\/a>, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects\u00a0is your new headquarters for everything \u201cNHL Draft\u201d! We have a complete listing of our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2018-nhl-entry-draft-headquarters\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">draft articles here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13542 td-animation-stack-type0-2 td-animation-stack-type0-1\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/07\/Top-Shelf-Prospects.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"99\">The first overall pick of the 2015 WHL Draft, <strong>Ty Smith<\/strong> represents the new breed of defensemen. Undersized, but highly skilled, Smith is the type of defender who is getting chances in the NHL, when in previous years he would have been overlooked.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, Smith put up 32 points in 66 games. He also captained Team Canada Black to a silver medal at the Under 17s. This year, Smith really broke out. He put up 14 goals and 73 points in 69 games\u00a0and added seven points in seven playoff games. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough as the Spokane Chiefs fell in the first round to the Portland Winterhawks. Expect to see Smith join Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF Under-18 World Championships. He put up three points in five games at this summer&#8217;s Hlinka tournament, winning gold.<\/p>\n<h1>Ty Smith Scouting Report<\/h1>\n<p>Defence &#8212; shoots Left<br \/>\nBorn March 24th, 2000 &#8212; Lloydminster, Alberta<br \/>\nHeight 5&#8217;10&#8221; &#8212; Weight 174 lbs [178 cm \/ 79 kg]<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widgets.eliteprospects.com\/iframe_player_stats.php?player=281814\" width=\"700\" height=\"390\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Skating<\/h2>\n<p>Smith is an\u00a0excellent skater. He can rush the puck up the ice, or pinch in at the blue line and still cover up his spot defensively. He has excellent speed in both directions. His acceleration is elite, as he reaches top speed in just one or two strides. Smith also has the pivots, agility, and edgework to cover large areas of the ice. This helps him in the defensive game. It also allows him to walk the line, and to open up passing and shooting lanes. Smith has good balance\u00a0and a low centre of gravity. He will need to keep improving his strength and power though.<\/p>\n<h2>Offensive Game<\/h2>\n<p>Offensively, Smith is a very good stick handler. He can lead the rush, but also has the poise to control the puck at the blue line and quarterback the play. He has excellent vision and reads the play extremely well. Smith is patient and poised. He makes smart passes to teammates, giving them good scoring changes. He also works well as a trailer, reading the play and finding the open ice to create an offensive threat. Smith almost always seems to make the right play with the puck. Smith is a very good passer and can set things up on the rush or from the point on the power play.<\/p>\n<p>He also has a good wrist shot with an outstanding release. He has improved his slap shot this season\u00a0and gets good power on his one-timer. Smith is also good at getting his shot on net, despite the traffic, finding shooting lanes. He keeps his shot low and allows his teammates to get screens, tip-ins, and rebounds.<\/p>\n<h2>Defensive Game<\/h2>\n<p>His defensive game is based on smart positioning and a quick stick, but he is undersized. Smith must continue to get stronger, to be better in front of the net and in the corners. He is willing to battle forwards, but could use more muscle. Smith is good at getting the puck out of his own end quickly. Once there is a loose puck, he can get to it quickly and either skate it out of danger or make a good first pass to start the transition game. Smith&#8217;s best defensive attribute is his skating. It helps him to maintain good gap control, and he is tough to beat off the rush. Overall, his defensive game is strong, with the main concern being size and strength.<\/p>\n<h2>Projection and Comparison<\/h2>\n<p>Smith can be an excellent offensive contributor at the next level. He has all the skills to transform a team&#8217;s transition game and to run the power play. It is not clear if his defensive game will be good enough to take on top pairing minutes at the next level. Continued work on getting stronger will be key. He likely needs another year of junior, possibly two. Stylistically Smith&#8217;s game is similar to <strong>Shayne Gostisbehere<\/strong> of the Philadelphia Flyers, but this is a style comparison only and not one based on talent or ability.<\/p>\n<h2>Highlights<\/h2>\n<p>The following is a compilation of some of the many highlight packages of Smith that are available on youtube.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ty Smith\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLOgBIUfkk2BPLm4Le6fcS_XpOrX2lRj8b\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Check back tomorrow for the next prospect on our draft board.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"DZQZtLifTXNpRnCaWEHH7Q\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/928201752\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'DZQZtLifTXNpRnCaWEHH7Q',sig:'Df_1O-hZopLhj4N4M5irbcShnLVvCloCKIBn4eHk4F4=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'928201752',caption: true ,tld:'ca',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>KELOWNA, BC &#8211; MARCH 03: Ty Smith #24 of the Spokane Chiefs passes the puck against the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place on March 3, 2018, in Kelowna, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2018 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site,\u00a0follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1279],"tags":[2128,655,314,2140,925],"class_list":["post-26496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nhl-draft","tag-2018-nhl-draft","tag-nhl-draft","tag-spokane-chiefs","tag-ty-smith","tag-whl"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}