Why Jackson Smith’s 2-way upside makes him an exciting 2025 NHL Draft prospect

[TBone]

Even though this is on The Athletic no paywall banner came up so it must be a freebie.

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Why Jackson Smith’s 2-way upside makes him an exciting 2025 NHL Draft prospect

By Max Bultman
June 1, 2025 6:00 am CDT

The trend among NHL defense corps in the Stanley Cup playoffs has been impossible to ignore.

Whether it’s Florida with Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones, Dallas with Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell or Edmonton with Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard and Brett Kulak, teams are going on deep runs with blue lines largely made up of big, mobile defensemen who can put those tools to use. And that’s just this year. Vegas, Tampa Bay and St. Louis all built their blue lines in much the same way in recent years en route to winning the Cup. And when something works in the playoffs, those trends tend to translate to draft day.

That’s true at the very top of this year’s forward-heavy draft class, with OHL Erie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and it’ll be true throughout the lottery, too. The big names on defense after Schaefer are Radim Mrtka (WHL Seattle) and Kashawn Aitcheson (OHL Barrie).

But right there with them could be WHL Tri-City’s Jackson Smith. He has the frame at 6 feet 3 inches, the fluid skating, and increasingly, the two-way potential to potentially go in that same lottery range, where some team will surely be hoping he can be part of their future postseason blue line.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/637649 ... son-smith/

[seattleblue]

Take him if he's on the board at 19. He's someone I assume won't be available

[SameOldBlues]

Take him if he's on the board at 19. He's someone I assume won't be available

I think it’d be one hell of a Draft day if either Smith, Mrkta or Atcheison fell to us at 19. What realistic chance do ya think we have of one of them bein there at 19?

[STL fan in MN]

Take him if he's on the board at 19. He's someone I assume won't be available

I think it’d be one hell of a Draft day if either Smith, Mrkta or Atcheison fell to us at 19. What realistic chance do ya think we have of one of them bein there at 19?

10%. Wouldn’t be surprised if any of them went top-10. Fully expect at least one of Mrtka or Aitcheson to go top-10.

[SameOldBlues]

Take him if he's on the board at 19. He's someone I assume won't be available

I think it’d be one hell of a Draft day if either Smith, Mrkta or Atcheison fell to us at 19. What realistic chance do ya think we have of one of them bein there at 19?

10%. Wouldn’t be surprised if any of them went top-10. Fully expect at least one of Mrtka or Aitcheson to go top-10.

So you’re saying you only think there’s a 10% chance that one of them 3 drop to 19? That’s a bummer if so, but only cause of my perceived potential of them 3, and since I dont really know sheeet cept for what I read from others, the Blues could end up drafting a future HOF’er that I currently think sucks.

[STL fan in MN]

Take him if he's on the board at 19. He's someone I assume won't be available

I think it’d be one hell of a Draft day if either Smith, Mrkta or Atcheison fell to us at 19. What realistic chance do ya think we have of one of them bein there at 19?

10%. Wouldn’t be surprised if any of them went top-10. Fully expect at least one of Mrtka or Aitcheson to go top-10.

So you’re saying you only think there’s a 10% chance that one of them 3 drop to 19? That’s a bummer if so, but only cause of my perceived potential of them 3, and since I dont really know sheeet cept for what I read from others, the Blues could end up drafting a future HOF’er that I currently think sucks.

Correct. I’d be pretty surprised if any of those 3 are still there at 19.

[seattleblue]

Four defensemen should get picked for sure before the Blues draft and they are Schaefer, Mrtka, Aitcheson and Smith.

Central Scouting has Brzustevich 19th (Fiddler 26th btw. At midseason it was Brzustevich 19, Fiddler 24)
Hensler, Boumedeinne and Reid are in the mix where we pick.

By the way the easy way to get used to typing Brzustevich is to think "Brustevich" and add a z third letter

[STL fan in MN]

Four defensemen should get picked for sure before the Blues draft and they are Schaefer, Mrtka, Aitcheson and Smith.

Central Scouting has Brzustevich 19th (Fiddler 26th btw. At midseason it was Brzustevich 19, Fiddler 24)
Hensler, Boumedeinne and Reid are in the mix where we pick.

By the way the easy way to get used to typing Brzustevich is to think "Brustevich" and add a z third letter

Agreed. Of the 3, Reid is the most likely to still be there. I’ll be interested to see what he officially measures in at this week at the Combine. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a smidge under 6’0”. That may make him drop a bit IMO.

I’ve spell Brzustewicz enough times now that my phone has apparently memorized it as all I have to do is type in Brzu and it’ll fill in the rest. Same with Boumedienne. Only have to type in Boum and I’m good to go lol.

[seattleblue]

Four defensemen should get picked for sure before the Blues draft and they are Schaefer, Mrtka, Aitcheson and Smith.

Central Scouting has Brzustevich 19th (Fiddler 26th btw. At midseason it was Brzustevich 19, Fiddler 24)
Hensler, Boumedeinne and Reid are in the mix where we pick.

By the way the easy way to get used to typing Brzustevich is to think "Brustevich" and add a z third letter

Agreed. Of the 3, Reid is the most likely to still be there. I’ll be interested to see what he officially measures in at this week at the Combine. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a smidge under 6’0”. That may make him drop a bit IMO.

I’ve spell Brzustewicz enough times now that my phone has apparently memorized it as all I have to do is type in Brzu and it’ll fill in the rest. Same with Boumedienne. Only have to type in Boum and I’m good to go lol.

I assume if you type Bou it isn't sure yet if you mean Bouw yet.
When I type something exactly as I wanted to and the phone changes it to gibberish, that is kryptonite to my equanimity. I say mean things to Siri

[Frank Underwood]

Four defensemen should get picked for sure before the Blues draft and they are Schaefer, Mrtka, Aitcheson and Smith.

Central Scouting has Brzustevich 19th (Fiddler 26th btw. At midseason it was Brzustevich 19, Fiddler 24)
Hensler, Boumedeinne and Reid are in the mix where we pick.

By the way the easy way to get used to typing Brzustevich is to think "Brustevich" and add a z third letter

Agreed. Of the 3, Reid is the most likely to still be there. I’ll be interested to see what he officially measures in at this week at the Combine. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a smidge under 6’0”. That may make him drop a bit IMO.

I’ve spell Brzustewicz enough times now that my phone has apparently memorized it as all I have to do is type in Brzu and it’ll fill in the rest. Same with Boumedienne. Only have to type in Boum and I’m good to go lol.

I assume if you type Bou it isn't sure yet if you mean Bouw yet.
When I type something exactly as I wanted to and the phone changes it to gibberish, that is kryptonite to my equanimity. I say mean things to Siri

Kind of funny……AI is apparently going to change the world and yet Siri still sucks dog balls 15 years after Apple introduced it (I looked that up on Google…..I didn’t trust the answer Siri would give me!)

[STL fan in MN]

Four defensemen should get picked for sure before the Blues draft and they are Schaefer, Mrtka, Aitcheson and Smith.

Central Scouting has Brzustevich 19th (Fiddler 26th btw. At midseason it was Brzustevich 19, Fiddler 24)
Hensler, Boumedeinne and Reid are in the mix where we pick.

By the way the easy way to get used to typing Brzustevich is to think "Brustevich" and add a z third letter

Agreed. Of the 3, Reid is the most likely to still be there. I’ll be interested to see what he officially measures in at this week at the Combine. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a smidge under 6’0”. That may make him drop a bit IMO.

I’ve spell Brzustewicz enough times now that my phone has apparently memorized it as all I have to do is type in Brzu and it’ll fill in the rest. Same with Boumedienne. Only have to type in Boum and I’m good to go lol.

I assume if you type Bou it isn't sure yet if you mean Bouw yet.
When I type something exactly as I wanted to and the phone changes it to gibberish, that is kryptonite to my equanimity. I say mean things to Siri

I haven't talked to Siri in 5-10 years. She’s useless. But yes, super annoying when you misspell something so often that it then autocorrects to the misspelled gibberish.

I haven’t typed Bouwmeester much lately but just did and apparently it takes Bouwm for it to fill in the rest.