You wont find a better comparison then Niklas Kronwall.
He has the booming slapshot, really good hands and a really good all arond offensive skillset like Kronwall. He has some questions in his own zone like Kronwall used to but Kronwall has ironed them out with age. He has a penchant for the big hit and a nasty side to his game. He cant hit like Kronwall can (not many can) but he makes up for it with his nastier play in the corners and by fighting.
The thing that will surprise most people about Smith is his ability to read the play and jump up and intercept passes, he does it like clockwork in the AHL.
I've watched him plenty and you will never think of a better comparison then a bit grittier version of Kronwall, the similarities are scary almost
Yeah I really didn't mean for that comment to indicate that I didn't know all that kind of stuff about him. It was just an interesting change in comparisons over time. My bad.
Offensively I actually think he has a better shot than Kronwall and has more of a taste and confidence to execute dangles. Passing ability between the two is probably equally impressive and yes they both have that as a definite strength.
Actually the way Smith hits players along the boards as they're trying to beat him wide kind of reminds me of Stuart a little. He's very aggressive and nasty when he knows a forward has run out of room/options. In that situation, I feel like Kronwall does just enough to neutralize any potential threat while Smith wants to actually make it hurt.
I'm not exactly sure if Kronwall is the best in the league right now at reading when a player is vulnerable to an open ice hit and timing it effectively but I can't think of anyone better right now. Jollymania will probably say that Kronner is at least one of the best right now.
Defensively, well, you say Kronwall has ironed out his issues with age. I think that's being just a tad generous for Kronwall. I feel like he's making strides towards getting there but not exactly at a rate in which people hoped. Kind of like Filppula on offense.
Or maybe that's just the whole comparison to Nick Lidstrom in his virtually mistake-free prime (which he's no longer in) comparison that some Wings fans have when they watch other dmen.
With more muscle on him and some more years of experience then I think you have a legit #2 or top pair defenseman.
The past several years, out of an 82 game season, I'd say I watch around 35-50 (mostly painful because of the losing) Griffins games thanks to the generous people here. Yet, I still don't quite have a handle on if he's better on the left or right side. Like a lot of left-shooting skilled defensemen, he passes better when he's on the left side but is more active and jumping when he's on the right. Or at least that's how I see it.
