Calgary kid Jackson Smith is one of the top blueliners in the 2025 NHL Draft class

Gang, y’know what town is pretty good at producing pretty good hockey players? Calgary!

The top prospect from our hockey-loving city in the 2025 NHL Draft looks to be Jackson Smith, a defenceman from the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans. This Glenlake kid grew up to be pretty big, pretty strong, and pretty good at playing the type of hockey that scouts go nuts over.

Let’s take a look at Smith, shall we?

Scouting report

Smith was born in May 2007 in scenic Calgary. He’s a left shot defender listed at 6’3″ and 190 pounds. He played his minor hockey in the Glenlake association, then moved onto the Calgary Royals and then the Edge School.

He played well enough in his youth to be the second player selected in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. Only Gavin McKenna, who had been granted exceptional status as a hockey unicorn by Hockey Canada, was selected before Smith. That’s pretty good company to keep.

Smith moved to the WHL full-time in 2022-23, as a 16-year-old, and has played two full seasons already before his 18th birthday.

Over at Dobber Prospects, Luke Sweeney wrote this scouting report back in January:

If Jackson Smith isn’t the number one eligible defenceman from the WHL, he’s got an excellent case to be it. Jackson Smith possesses many of the things that people look for in a “modern” NHL defenseman. He’s got exceptional four-way mobility, and he uses it to the maximum extent. Smith uses agility, balance, and deceptive footwork to push the puck up ice, and his smooth, powerful edges to close gaps early in rushes. Earlier in the year, he was prone to overthinking and overhandling the puck, but recently he’s cleaned that up. If you’re looking for a rush defender, who can move the puck with his feet and create with an elite skill package, Smith may be your man.

As part of his April draft rankings, our pal Steven Ellis over at Daily Faceoff had this assessment of Smith:

Many consider Smith to be the second-best defensive prospect in the draft, and I fully agree. From an overall package standpoint, Smith has so many things going for him. He’s physical, skates so well, and he’s very mobile for a 6-foot-3 defenseman. I also think his hockey sense is great, and it’s only a matter of time until he finds a way to explode offensively. I’ve seen him play in person a handful of times this year, and he almost always was one of my favorite defenders on the ice.

Jackson Smith is no Matthew Schaefer, who’s widely expected to be the first blueliner taken in this draft – and could go first-overall. But man, Smith is really, really good. He’s big, skates well, moves well, and is really smart with how he plays the game. There’s a lot to like about Smith’s game and potential.

The numbers

In his second season in the Dub, Smith had 11 goals and 43 assists for 54 points over 68 games with Tri-City.

He was 10th among all WHL blueliners in points, seventh at even strength. He was tied for 18th in goals among all WHL defenders, tied for 15th at even strength.

Among his age cohort, players eligible for the draft for the first time this year, he’s first in points, goals and even strength points. And he’s second in even strength goals, only trailing behind Edmonton Oil Kings giant Blake Fiddler.

Smith is not even 18 yet, and he’s one of the most offensively productive defenders in the entire WHL. He good.

Availability and fit

Depending on which ranking you read, Smith lands somewhere between fifth and 15th on most draft rankings. The general perception of this class is there’s a drop-off after around seventh or eighth slot, and some rankers have Smith before that ledge and some have him after. To cherry pick a bit: he’s seventh according to Daily Faceoff, 14th according to TSN’s Craig Button, and 15th according to FC Hockey. More likely than not, he won’t be available when the Flames draft for the first time.

That might not be a bad thing, though. Smith is really good, but when you consider that (a) the Flames need centres badly and (b) Smith is arguably a left-handed version of the type of up-tempo, offensive-minded blueliner that they’ve already stockpiled from recent drafts (in the forms of Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews, among others). You could make a case that the Flames already have Jackson Smith at home, so going to the store for more might not make a ton of sense.

Smith will probably make a team really happy because he’s got a ton of potential, but it seems unlikely he’ll be around when the Flames pick and, all things being equal, they’re probably better off trying to grab a centre.