Yeah, Andreychuk is a pretty wild comparison. He scored about 1.5 ppg in his draft year, compared with Smith's 0.62. It's nice that Smith has taken a big step forward offensively this year. But even based on this year's stats, he has an NHLE of about 22 points per 82 games.
If he continues to improve, and if his skating is good enough for the NHL, he should be a solid third-line winger who makes opponents tremble in fear. This is no bad thing. If he ever earns a spot on a scoring line, it could well be as Johnny Hockey's bodyguard, banging and crashing and digging in the corners so Gaudreau has room to freewheel with the puck. Sort of the role Gary Roberts played in his early years on the line with Nieuwendyk and Loob.
If he doesn't continue to improve, he's a fourth-line guy; and if he is too slow on his skates (something I do not have the information to judge), he'll be the reason why his AHL team needs to travel in two buses. That will be unfortunate if it happens, but at this point I can't see why anyone would call him a wasted pick.
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