Devils draft Ty Smith.

Photo Credit; Bruce Bennett-Getty

The New Jersey Devils used the 17th pick of the first pick to select defenseman Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.

I've said before that I'm a novice when looking at the hockey draft, at least once one gets past the first few picks of the draft, so I make no claims about being a hockey draft expert.

Ty Smith finished second among the WHL in points from a defenseman and was the first pick in the WHL draft in his junior draft season.
Smith is reported to have excellent offensive skills, although, at 5'11, he isn't as large as you would hope for a first-round defenseman.
Smith isn't afraid to shoot (194 shots last season) and was rated by some as a high-level skater.
Smith will need to get stronger and I think he will need at least one year and likely two to three years before being physically prepared for the physical NHL grind.

All about the Jersey has a far better look at Ty Smith than I have here, but the consensus going into the draft, Smith was considered as a top 15 pick with a few sites rating him as high as eighth on their player board, so depending on your ratings, the Devils either received a tremendous steal or a mild theft at 17.

Ty Smith's skating ability and skills seem to be a nice fit for the Ray Shero style and for the Devils, Smith is the type of defenseman that the system lacks and that Shero is continuing to try to build up for his vision of building the franchise and how he wants the team to play.

Finally, what really struck me was long-time TRS favorite Kathryn Tappen's (a crush that goes all the way back even past Tappen's time at NESN to the old College Sports Network, which was eventually swallowed up by the CBS Sports Network) talk with Ty Smith.
Tappen told the viewers that when they ask the various players all sorts of questions that one of those questions was "who among you would be the best team player/teammate?".
Tappen then stated that the overwhelming leader in responses was Ty Smith.
That's the type of answer that can be generic but is always a good thing when evaluating a player.
You want guys that can be leaders and who other players enjoy playing with.
It makes it a better environment and can help down the road in being able to recruit players on occasion when a team tries to win over a free agent.

As I said, I'm far from the best guy when it comes to the NHL draft, but I have to admit that I like what I heard yesterday about Ty Smith and hopefully, Smith will be a Devil in a few years.

Back later with a boxing challenge report...