Quote:
Originally Posted by HighLifeMan
Alberts Smits has already surpassed Miro Heiskanen's draft year point production in the Liiga - granted he is eight months older that Miro was, but it's still an amazing start to the year. If he keeps up anywhere near this level of production - it's hard not to see him pushing as a top three pick.
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I've been putting off doing any write-ups on Smits, because I'm taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach. There is undoubtedly a ton to like- he's big, skates well, and actually plays pretty solid defensively. Right now, he's playing over 20 minutes a night in the men's league, up to almost 25 on a few occasions, and shows no signs of being sent back to the Junior league.
There are plenty of scouts though, who insist that Smits' game (at least in the offensive end) won't translate well to the NHL. I've watched him, and some of those concerns are overblown, but some are legit; his game is quite chaotic right now, very high-risk, and very active and aggressive. He won't be able to hold on to the puck as much as he does right now when he's in North America, won't have the room to slip around opponents, and won't have as much of a green light to rove and do whatever he wants. In addition, his retrievals and breakout passes are often very shaky, his decision-making is sometimes questionable, and his experiments often result in egregious giveaways.
That said, there's no doubt that Smits is a first-round talent, and may go in the top-20 easily. Even if he doesn't turn into Makar or Dahlin, he is still easily a top-4 defenseman in the making, and will still pile up plenty of points, while playing a solid two-way game- and there's plenty of hope for more. My bet is that he climbs the rankings, but I'm waiting until later in the season to anoint him the "next one". Just my opinion.