NYC Wings Fanatic

SCOUTING REPORT From The Hockey News Scouting Report section:: Assets: Has great straight-ahead skating ability and work ethic. Hits anything that moves. Plays a gritty, in-your-face style and owns solid scoring instincts. Leads by example on the ice. Flaws: Over time, his body has broken down due to the punishment that comes with playing a power forward's role. His abrasiveness will continue to be a concern moving forward. Career Potential: Quality veteran power forward. Did we already have anyone we could have described as "Hits anything that moves"? Cole sounds refreshingly gritty to me!

Hi guys, As much we have been down on Brendan and his costly bonehead passes to the opposition and such, with his recent 2 goals and his looking far more confident in joining the rush, isn't this the Brendan Smith that we envisioned before he was ever called up from Grand rapids? He seems to be smelling offensive blood now (last few games) when he joins a rush, and commits to the play in going right to the net, knowing that the winger (hopefully) will have his back covered defensively. Maybe Babs or the assistants sat down with him to give him the okay to freelance a bit more than he had, but to me, this Brendan Smith version 2.0 is what I had thought he could potentially be when he was still seen as one of our top prospects - an offensively gifted and aggressive D man with snarl, speed, and some size - one that we have rarely seen. Do you guys think he is finally showing signs of coming out of his shell, or has he just had a couple of lucky games?

Doesn't it look like Brendan is continuing to significantly grow more and more during these playoff games? He is now almost always joining the rush whenever the opportunity presents, and his stickhandling and speed make him look pretty darn good in hauling it out of the defensive zone, dishing it off or shooting himself, or simply giving the offense another look that they typically don't have from a defenseman. Babs must have given him the green light to do this whenever possible, as they certainly haven't reeled him in, and must be encouraging this big time. Krug does this same stuff consistently for the Bruins. Smith's defense also looks a world better, even though he still gambles big time on occasion, but has made some genuinely high level def. plays that he hadn't done much of previously. A dose of Kronwall sure does wonders! (Now if only Kronner could be cloned, and then paired with Kindl, Quincy, and Lashoff!)

After watching Helm against the Blues, doesn't it finally seem like he has shaken a lot or all of the rust off from his injury string and is skating and moving like he did before all the health issues? He had shown me some glimpses and stretches of his old skills at times up till now, but it finally looks to me that he is hitting that high gear for most each and every shift, without any of the tentativeness that he sometimes had when he just returned. It is a heck of a good time for him to round back into tip-top game shape, with the Bruins' "weakness" in defending against pure speed!

That is funny (and sad) - we are all so used to having so much repeated news about a setback or new injury that it feels weird to have any stretch of a few games without one (or two or three)!!!!

Ouch! Thank you for the update. 3rd round picks with promise do not always pan out, as we all know.

I've always had the Stars as my second favorite team. Being an old timer, I remember the days of Bobby Smith, Bill Goldsworthy, Dino Ciccarelli, Cesare Maniago, Danny Grant, Derian Hatcher, etc., and rolled over my fandom (distinctly second to the Wings) when they moved to Dallas. Having Jim Nill over there hasn't hurt the connection, either.

Has Max Nicastro fallen off the face of the earth? I am in New York, and haven't seen any talk of him on these boards or anywhere for awhile. Wasn't he thought of as a skilled, physical prospect once upon a time?

Aside from the so-called "past" diving and whining, the thing that always sticks with me is the instance a few years ago in the playoffs of his repeatedly chopping hard at the back of Z's legs with his stick on the way to their respective benches long after the particular play was whistled dead, and he thought that no one was looking (except he forgot - the broadcast cameras). I have seen him do this repeatedly over the years, and if he has stopped this lately, then fine and good, but can anyone honestly say that Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or Lidstrom would ever have done this?

Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!

There is absolutely no denying that his hockey skill are genuinely off the charts, but on the other hand, in terms of class and sportsmanship, he sets equally low levels in the other direction. In other words, the phrase - "He is a total d*ck" fits him to a tee!

Like I had said earlier in this thread, he is starting to look more like a Duncan Keith-type defenseman every game he plays alongside Kronner, with a very similar skill set. Tonight's goal was just another example of his ability to contribute, on both ends of the ice!

Smith blocking Filppula's shot in the last minute - he's stepping up to the plate more and more, in a big way, at critical times, as time goes on, is he not? Kronwall's steadying influence seems to be working wonders for him!

Smith sweeping that puck right off the goal line behind Howard at the very last second tonight against the Leafs was truly a thing of beauty!!! That kind of heady move is what he is so capable of at his best, and I just hope that he keeps building on that level of play into his habits!

I personally didn't say that he had a bad game in general - I said that he took an ill-advised chance at an inopportune time, and that this tendency needs some fine tuning, without killing his overall game. For the record, I really like Smith and his huge potential, and I think that with time and coaching, he has the chance to be a Duncan Keith type of offensive/defensive hybrid defenseman. Here is the Hockey News' scouting report on Keith, which sounds like it could eventually be true of Smith, too: SCOUTING Assets: Is as good a skater as you can find from the back end. Can log ridiculous amounts of ice time effortlessly. Excels at using his mobility to shut down opposing forwards. Has above-average two-way instincts for the blueline position. Plays a very cerebral game, too. Flaws: Is a little undersized to play against giant-sized NHL forwards. May not be capable of taking his offensive game to the next level, as he's not a natural power-play quarterback. Could also stand to improve his shot from the point. Career Potential: Elite all-round defenseman. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just for comparison, here is Brendan's Hockey News scouting report: SCOUTING REPORT Assets: Skates extremely well and is adept at rushing up ice with the puck. Has offensive upside, an aggressive nature and a projectable frame. Has the puck skills and hockey sense required to help out on the scoresheet. Flaws: Will need to continue bulking up in order to handle bigger National Hockey League forwards. Has a mean streak, but must also learn to pick his spots in the hitting department. Career Potential: Talented all-round defenseman with good upside.

Last night, Mr. Smith once again showed that he is a work in progress. He was caught up in the offensive zone just before the Blue Jackets' winning goal, when he couldn't keep the puck in at the point. The Blue Jacket player he tried to tie up there got past him to create the 2 on 1 that lead to the goal. I know that he plays with that gambler's mentality and swagger, but there are times to take risks, and times to go for the sure thing. IMHO, the sure thing then was to better, safely transition back to defense, while leaving the chance to keep the puck in the offensive zone on the table, especially when the game meant so much in the standings. Once again, it was the mental part, and not the physical part that did him in, and I believe (hope) that this will sink in (and be drummed into him by the coaches)

It was nice to hear him singled out several times in a very positive light by Doc Emrick and Pierre McGuire during the broadcast last night. He once again had several scoring possibilities when he joined the rush, and he certainly does look much more comfortable playing with Kronwall. Like other guys have said, I also hope that the pairings might stay this way for a while, past the point that E gets back to see if this can be a long term solution to the D pairing issue.

What I saw tonight and have been seeing for a while is that when he is in the offensive zone (on a night that he is playing as a defenseman!), he will too often pass up really good, legitimate shot opportunities and attempt to make a low percentage tricky pass to a forward who does not have a better scoring chance than his, but no goal and often even no shot results from this. Even in that zone, he is trying to do too much, and when he simplifies things in both zones, things always seems to go better for him. The times that he flies in to join an offensive rush or comes in on a pinch, the less thinking he does the better, meaning that when he shoots or passes without too much time and simply reacts instinctively, he seems to do much, much better. The other thing I noticed tonight was his really getting much better and more comfortable at using the poke check more and more as an effective defensive weapon, as he can really have a pretty active stick when he chooses to. It still seems it is his thinking about tactics and reactions that do him in. This really stands out in contrast to Danny D, who seems to grasp his abilities and limitations far better than Mr. Smith, but hopefully this will come with time, coaching, and experience. Danny just "gets it". Brendan is often fumbling around with getting it. The future will be interesting!

Unfortunately, I missed the game last night. How did he look in his debut?

Is there a clinical diagnosis of bipolar hockey disorder? It always seems to be that he can look like an all-star one game (or even on one play), and then look like a beginning AHLer the very next one. As he is today, he will win your heart sometimes, and then break it at others. Maybe you oldtimers like me will remember the line from that 1950's-60's quiz show, To Tell The Truth... "Will the real Brendan Smith, please stand up?"

I also think that "he is trending in the right direction", and I think that is a good way to phrase it. I think that with his skills, at all lower levels of hockey that he has played until the NHL, he thought of himself as somewhat of a badass - a hockey player being like a gunslinger that hasn't met his match to date. He was always mostly a big fish in a small pond, but now, he can't out maneuver the opposition based on his above average physical skills alone (skating, stick handling, etc). The complete opposite was Nick Lidstrom, who despite a laser slapshot, relied mostly on smarts, and I think that we can all agree that he flourished this way. He wasn't Coffey fast, Weber physical, etc., but his positioning and anticipation were superhuman, and hopefully, Mr. Smith will take some of that to heart one day soon, and combine his God-given abilities with intelligent hockey. I think you can tell from interviews that he is not just plain dumb, so it must be that he still hasn't accepted the fact that the skills that allowed him to dominate at lower levels are not so unusual in the pro game. I think that (hopefully) if and when he ever catches on and buys into the program, watch out!

I am of the camp that believes that prospects, as tantalizing as they are, are never a sure thing. The Wings are trying desperately to keep the playoff appearance streak alive, and in many ways, aside from this being hockey credentials based, I think that they also see this as a business /marketing goal in promoting the Wings "brand". Granted, Jarnkrok seems to have excellent skills, but we all know how far skill alone takes a player (Jiri Hudler, Ville Leino, Damien Brunner, Fabian Brunnstrom, etc). There are many players who on paper look incredibly intriguing, with lots of potential that never gets realized due to all kinds of X factors that we are never aware of as fans. I do think that KH did "overpay" in pure value for value, but I also think that he felt that his hands were tied, and that the need for a good, although not great center who was available and resignable was too great need at this time. The perfect storm of injuries this year was discouraging to see, but maybe the Wings can put on a burst like last year and give us some degree of consolation going into these playoffs.

I agree that now, many times, he does seem to be better suited in a lot of ways to be a forward instead of a defenseman, but hopefully in the (near) future, he will get his defensive abilities and outlook in line with his clear offensive skills.

Wow! It might be a bit premature to write him off so early, isn't it? This is only his second full season with the Wings, so couldn't a light go off in his brain, the coaching sinks in, and the mental part that has given him so much of a problem click in at some point? I would like to think that this is still possible, since he does offer so much promise if and when he finally understands what a defenseman is supposed to do. Like they say, defensemen do take longer to develop the mental aspect past of the game, so I would hope for our sake that there is still time.