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There’s always the question of how a college player will adjust to the NHL. I’m not sure we have much to worry about in that respect when it comes to Will Smith. It was tempting to rank him one rung higher here, and he would be if it weren’t for the two players above him being who they are.
Smith is such a creative player. His vision and hockey sense and how he uses them, along with his phenomenal puckhandling skills, set him apart from the rest of the pack. He sees opportunities and takes advantage of them before his opponents realize what he’s up to, which makes him an eternal threat. If he can utilize that skillset in the NHL the way he has in the past, he’ll put up an excellent fight for the Calder, and we’ll have a lot of fun watching along the way.
It’ll be tempting for some pundits to question whether Smith can be that player away from former linemates Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault. After all, they played together for a long time. At the end of the day, though, there weren’t any passengers on that line. That’s why it worked so well, and the trio will continue to play well without each other.