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The draft kicked off on Thursday and it went quite swiftly, the Hawks selected Connor Bedard, the Ducks opted for Adam Fantilli, the Blue Jackets for Leo Carsson and the Sharks for Matvei Michkov. I did try to move the Canadiens up a few spots with a trade proposal, but Anaheim was having none of it. So, with those 4 players off the board, here’s my pick for the Canadiens:
With the 5th overall pick of the Hockeybuzz mock draft, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select, from the USNTDP, Will Smith.
For years, Canadiens fans have been told that trading for a center is hard, the Habs are all too happy to have the opportunity to draft a talented center with the 5th overall pick. Smith is 6’00” tall and weights in at 181 lbs. A talented playmaker that can also score goals, Smith possesses all the skills necessary to make the transition to the pro game. Adding him to a center line that already features Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach will allow the Canadiens to be set at center for year and it’s a big steppingstone in their rebuild.
In the last year, Smith has been used as the USA under-18 team’s first line center and he has put up impressive numbers scoring 51 goals and gathering 76 assists for 127 points in only 60 games. He also led the USA to the IIHF Under-18 World Championship gold medal and was named the tournament’s MVP. In the 9 games of the tourney, he racked up 20 points including 9 goals. The year before at the same tournament, he grabbed a silver medal and got a pair of goals and a pair of assists in 4 games as an underaged player.
Smith’s skating is very good, and so is his acceleration which allows him to have plenty of time to create scoring opportunities for both his teammates and him. He’s not afraid to go in the corners to collect loose pucks and can also hold his own in puck battles.
His puck handling skills are impressive, and he can stickhandle in very tight quarters, meaning he doesn’t need a lot of space to be dangerous on the attack, especially with his vision and high hockey IQ.
On top of being an impressive offensive weapon, he plays a solid 200-foot game. He back checks with a purpose and always gives his all in any situation. He could use adding some muscle to his frame and that’s just what he’ll do next year in the NCAA as he’s already committed to play with Boston College a team for which Johnny Gaudreau, Keven Hayes, Chris Kreider and Tatcher Demko have all played.
Furthermore, Smith was coached by now Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes when he played for the Boston Jr. Eagles for a couple of years, meaning that the Habs executive knows both the young man and his family pretty well. Smith is not expected to stay in college for too long and if his development goes well this year with Boston, he might be ready to join the Canadiens for the 2024-2025 season.
I won’t lie, I was glad to see Michkov was off the board and I was given the option to go not only for a nice safe pick, but one that fills an organizational need while being the most talented player still available. I’ll be back later this month with the Canadiens’ second 1st round pick, pick 31st which they got by sending Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers back at the 2022 trade deadline. I expect this one will be a bit more tricky to make.
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