Will Smith

June 2025 – After a slow start in which he struggled at both ends of the ice, Smith really came into his own, garnering 31 points in his last 37 games while being trusted to face stronger competition in more difficult situations. He was finally paired with Macklin Celebrini for good after the trade deadline and the two of them meshed well with Nikolai Kovalenko. He’s not a physical player, which may catch up to him when the Sharks start filling their roster with the young talent on the way. It may see him top out as a Reilly Smith type (who topped out at 60 points), unless he can asset himself as a scoring star quickly. The upside is still there for him to be a star, but his odds of reaching have slipped a little. – Dobber

July 2024 – Smith finished his freshman season at Boston College with 25 goals and 46 assists in 41 games. He led the team in total points and assists, finishing third in goals. Signing his entry-level contract with the Sharks in May, Smith will join San Jose for the 2024-25 season. Although a learning curve is expected, Smith projects to be a part of a lethal one-two punch at the center position along with Macklin Celebrini for quite some time. John Gove

June 2023 – Smith has been selected 4th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Curtis Rines

April 2023 – Will Smith has had lots of incredible performances over the year, but there have also been some mediocre ones. Mixing in a bad game here and there isn’t surprising as he just turned 18 years old. Also, Smith usually follows up a tough performance with a jaw-dropping one. Smith has legitimate star potential and is going to continue his success at Boston College next year where he’ll likely play alongside his NTDP linemates once again. He extends possessions, finds teammates using great deception and can score at a high level in the future. His role at the next level will be determined by his development in areas like his skating stride and his two-way game, but his offensive game has little-to-no holes. He can play physically but is much more reliant on skill because he has elite tools and an excellent feel for the game. Evan Pace

September 2022 – Will Smith split last season fairly evenly between the USNTDP’s U17 and U18 squads and produced well at both levels. In 35 games with the U17s, he tallied 17 goals to go along with 20 assists, and nearly matched that rate with the U18s, scoring 14 goals and 13 assists in 28 games. He also added four more points at the U18 Worlds, earning a silver medal with Team USA.

Smith is one of the more interesting players to watch this year due to his complete, two-way skill game. The Boston College commit will look to improve on his already great production from last year. Smith played a lot of last year with the U18 squad as a 16-year-old and looked very comfortable. He’s a confident, skilled forward who can play either center or wing and has a great set of hands and playmaking ability. Smith can score, too, as he’s got a very quick, deceptive release and is a very intelligent offensive player, therefore creating lots of scoring chances for himself and his teammates. This year, Smith will be playing full-time with a lesser-talented U18 team but should still put up some high-level numbers playing alongside some solid top-six forwards. Evan Pace