Some things can’t be taught, and some things can. Like physics and calculus.
Spokane Chiefs defenceman Ty Smith scored 91 per cent in high school physics last term and 88 per cent in pre-calculus. The Western Hockey League named Smith its scholastic player of the year.
This is one smart kid.
He must be bright because at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds he has learned to play an all-around game. Smith doesn’t do just one thing well on the ice — he does most things well. But his top strength is his skating. He is believed to be one of the fastest skaters in the draft.
Obviously, he’s also one of the smartest.
“I’ve been working hard in the classroom and hard on the ice ever since I was a kid,” Smith told WHL.com after his academic award. “My family put a big emphasis on doing well in school as well as on the ice. I knew the faster I got my stuff done at school and at home for homework, and the better I did it, the more time I got on the ice.”
Smith has been an excellent student in class and on the ice.
The first overall pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, Smith had 73 points, including 14 goals, in 69 games this season for Spokane. Seven of those points came in a single 9-2 rout of Prince George in February. He finished the year plus-44.
Smith’s 73 points are the most by a WHL defenceman in a draft-eligible season since 2002 when Ian White scored 79 points. And Smith’s 1.06 points-per-game in his pre-draft year was better than recent WHL honour-grad defencemen Morgan Rielly and Seth Jones.
Smith has been a Team Canada regular and this past year played in both the Ivan Hlinka Tournament and under-18 world championship.
In many previous draft years, Smith would have been one of the top defencemen in his class and looking at a possible top-10 selection. But in this defence-heavy draft, with a handful of blue-liners narrowly ahead of him, he may have to settle for a mid-first-round selection – and being the first WHL prospect chosen. NHL Central Scouting ranks him as the 14th-best North American skater.
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Team: Spokane Chiefs, WHL
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Age: 18
From: Lloydminster, Sask.
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 170 pounds
WHAT THEY’VE SAID
Spokane assistant GM Chris Moulton: “Ty is a dynamic player who makes an impact every shift. He is a leader and competitor. Ty’s vision is as good as I have ever seen and he makes those around him better.”
The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy: “Another mobile defenceman, Smith doesn’t have a ton of size, but it rarely seems to matter. Plays against top lines and defends better than many of his peers in this draft class.”
Chiefs coach Dan Lambert: “He plays in every key situation for us. He’s our quarterback on the power play and five-on-five. He wants ice time and he demands it.”
WHAT SMITH SAYS ABOUT HIS GAME
“I have the green light for the most part; the coaches have been great with that. From the defensive side of things, I’ve been working on that quite a bit. The better I defend, the more I can help the offence.”
A NATURAL SKATER
Wayne Smith taught his son to skate when Ty was two years old. But there was no chair or hand for Ty to hang on to — he simply started skating.
“Took him four strides before he went into a snow bank,” Wayne told The Edmonton Journal.
THE DELTA DETOUR
For bantam hockey, Smith attended the Delta Hockey Academy outside Vancouver, where the defenceman amassed 28 points in 16 games and won a handful of tournaments with the powerhouse team.
His coaches included former pro Yogi Svejkovsky, who honed his coaching chops as Don Hay’s assistant with the Vancouver Giants, and Ian Gallagher, the father of Montreal Canadien Brendan Gallagher.
“Delta was a good experience, the whole billeting thing, lots of travel,” Smith said. “The head coach is a really good skills guy and Ian pushed me — 400-metre sprints on a football field, then into the gym for strength work.”
DID YOU KNOW?
The Hockey News reported that Smith has become text friends with elite Swedish prospect Adam Boqvist, who tracked down the Canadian during the Under-17 World Challenge to compliment his game. It is similar to Boqvist’s. The Swede is expected to be part of a quartet of defencemen – Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson and Quinn Hughes are the others – drafted between fifth and 10th in Dallas.
Smith’s junior roommate was Edmonton Oiler first-rounder Kailer Yamamoto, who gave his teammate insight and advice about what to expect at the NHL level.
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