Could Albert Smits work himself into the higher end of the 2026 defenseman draft class?
The NHL Draft is quickly approaching, and while plenty of talk surrounds the debate between Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg at the top of the draft, there is plenty to dive into beyond the two elite offensive powers.
For defensemen, one of the names that seems to be flying under the radar is Latvian blueliner Alberts Šmits, who is coming off an impressive showing at the IIHF World Championships.
On the latest episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Daily Faceoff’s prospect analyst, Steven Ellis, joined co-hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Steve Peters to break down the European blueliner’s potential outlook.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We’ve done a lot of talk about Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg and all that, but I want to talk about that sort of clump of defensemen, whether it’s Keaton Verhoeff, Chase Reid and all those other names that have been discussed. One name that kind of gets, I don’t want to say forgotten, but he’s always kind of a rung below, is Alberts Šmits. Do you think that could change here as we lead up to the draft? Could Šmits work his way into that conversation?
Steven Ellis: The one thing we’ve kind of seen from him at the World Championship with Latvia, and they were just recently eliminated, was that they really kind of relied on him in those very important moments, and that’s really exciting for an 18-year-old defenseman.
He played the whole year between Finland and Germany, so he does have that pro experience. We saw him at the Olympics, we saw him in World Juniors, but just the thing about his game here is just continuing to figure out what type of player he’s going to be, because he’s very good defensively, he’s got a big frame, six-foot-three, he’s difficult to really contain. I think the big issue is whether there’s enough offensive potential there, and I think from talking to one scout, the big thing about him is he’s you look at some of the players he’s playing with and he makes some really good passes or really good decisions. The plays don’t end up working out to be anything because the guys on Latvia, of all due respect, don’t have a ton of high-end hockey sense, but he is going to find that in the NHL, and is going to find players he’s going to be able to pass to, and the plays are going to work out, and I think his numbers are going to be pretty decent. We’re probably not talking about a guy who gets more than 25 or 30 points, but when you look at his game, the way he plays, there’s actually a lot of similarities to more exciting players, the way that he uses his space or his size and his reach to take space away. I think he’s actually exceptionally smart. He can run the power play. He’s not as offensively gifted as a Daxon Rudolph, a Carson Carels, Verhoeff, but I do think we’re still seeing a guy that’s got that defensive ability and if he can add a bit more offensive ability, and I think with the right opportunities he can make that happen, I think he’s going to be a very effective top four defenseman, and I do think there is top pairing potential.
You can catch the rest of Steven’s analysis and Friday’s entire episode here.