A Player To Watch: Gabe Smith

Gabe Smith has all the tools to be an extremely dangerous presence at the QMJHL level and beyond.

The 15 year old power forward skates incredibly well for his size. A matter of fact some scouts would say he has amazing feet.

At 6’3 and a 190 pounds Smith still has room to grow figuratively and literally.

You can make all the comparisons and similarities you want, but Gabe Smith is a close to a bonafide power forward as you could have.

Milan Lucic, Jamie Benn and Sean Couturier come to mind when you see the young New Brunswicker play the game he loves. Many comparisons are unfair, especially when it comes to NHLers, but Smith possesses a tremendous foundational skill set.

Smith is arguably the best forward prospect to come out of New Brunswick in quite sometime.

The St. Andrews, New Brunswick product competes on every puck in every situation all over the Ice. He’s a nasty player to play against, not because he’s dirty, because he’s mean and has tons of sandpaper to his game. You can guarantee Gabe Smith will finish every single hit available. He plays the game the right way in all three zones. Many players that are Smith’s size at that age are reluctant to throw their weight around, that’s certainly not the case. On average Smith throws four to five bone crushing hits a game. He’s defensively accountable in all three zones, thinks the game very well and has very active stick in all three zones.

Obviously, there are always aspects in which young draft eligible players can work on. Smith will have to work on his explosiveness and agility to excel at the next level, but he’s as closest to “Q” ready a NB prospect has been since Lukas Cormier.

Smith can play both forward positions with relative ease. He logs massive minutes in every situation and distributes the puck very well through the middle. He has extremely soft hands and great puck skills in open ice and in high traffic areas.

QMJHL teams will more than likely play him on the wing early on, but he could blossom into a 1st line two way center due in large part to his skating and off the charts compete level. He will have to improve in the face off dot to carry the first line center moniker at the next level, but he certainly possesses all the tools to be an elite Major Junior player and professional hockey player.

When it comes to the offensive side the game, Gabe Smith has incredible upside. He possesses a heavy accurate shot and can score from just about anywhere on the ice. His shot rivals that of many pros.

Gabe Smith is a player to watch for all the right reasons, his strongest attributes are clear as day, they jump off the page, but it’s the intangibles that he possesses that make him such a lethal force.

There’s no denying that Smith has pro potential and that the sky is the limit. Perhaps the scariest aspect of all of this is that he’s only 15 and he’s only going to get better and better.