mitchell smith

Previously: 2018 and 2019, and the first bit of 2020.

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[Michael Capels/MIHockey]

The previous post covered the five forwards currently in the 2020 class and highly touted D Owen Power; in addition to those gents Michigan also has four other defensemen currently committed. The most highly touted is NTDP selection Jacob Truscott, who is very much in the mold of the Mel Pearson defenseman:

Jacob Truscott (Little Caesars 15U) – “Highly skilled, puck-moving defenseman. Very good skater with a smooth, effortless stride. Retrieves the puck well and has end to end rushing abilities. Does a very good job of keeping his feet moving and his head up in order to make plays. Sees the ice well and makes good outlets.”

A take from just before the NTDP selection camp:    

Truscott has long been hyped as one of the more athletically gifted defensemen in this age group. He makes strong lead passes in transit and can jump into plays offensively.

And the OHL’s scouting report from a couple months ago:

He is a good puck moving defenceman that has the ability to join or lead the offensive rush and then because of how well he skates he can easily recover and get back and play his position. He has a very nice, long stride that looks effortless. His mobility is good and that makes it hard to beat him off the rush. He sees the ice well and makes the simple play the majority of the time which is very effective.

Truscott also went to London, but in flier territory (8th round) and has committed to the NTDP. He doesn’t seem like much of a flight risk:

Port Huron Northern freshman Jacob Truscott didn’t really know how to react when the University of Michigan hockey coaching staff offered him a scholarship. Being a lifelong Wolverines fan, the offer seemed too good to be true.

“I had a loss for words – I was speechless,” Jacob recalled. “I didn’t see it coming.”

After a brief talk with family members that were equally as shocked and honored as he was, Jacob made the commitment to play hockey for U-M.

“We were just speechless and tearing up,” Jacob’s mom, Lori, recalled from last weekend’s visit. “Big brother Kyle and I were probably the most struck by it all emotionally. It’s just an amazing opportunity.”

Expect him to arrive in a couple years.

[After THE JUMP: smallish, skilled defensemen. Everywhere.]

This was a UV bullet and now it's 900 words, so now it's a post.

Yes, folks, the OHL draft has come and gone, and since Michigan is provisionally recruiting like gangbusters in the 2020 hockey class it once again becomes an event with great import for M hockey fans. Michigan commits:

S_Z_SilverStick_prospects_Perfetti_02_348c6___Super_Portrait

Perfetti (right) barely fell

Cole Perfetti: 1st round, #5, Saginaw. Perfetti barely fell, which is usually real bad news. In this case there is a glimmer of hope because Saginaw has close to a complete roster for the year and OHL teams get compensatory picks if their first rounder is "defective," the OHL's charming term for a player who doesn't report. Rolling the dice on Perfetti doesn't cost them much; if he doesn't report they get the sixth overall pick in next year's draft, when they need it more. For now the Saginaw GM is playing coy and pretending the USHL doesn't exist:

"He has committed to Michigan, and there is a recruiting process for us. But when you talk about elite skill like this, the risk is worth the reward. And personally, I think he's too good to wait two years to play at this level."

OHL teams can trade defective picks and keep that compensatory pick, so we'll know if this was a flier or a plan in September. If Perfetti's immediately traded for a bushel of picks to another OHL outfit he's gone. This is the most likely outcome.

FWIW, Saginaw took former M commit Blade Jenkins and got him after one NTDP year. That might have been more desperation than anything else as Jenkins struggled immensely in the USHL, scoring 5 points in 34 games, and just 8 in 56 overall. He's up to 44 in 68 in an OHL he's found more tractable and is once again draftable.

Antonio Stranges: 2nd round, #21, London. Ugh. London has the resources to acquire players not otherwise headed for the OHL. Stranges is talented enough and London has enough players for this to be a flier. Stranges did tweet out something after he got picked—and then deleted that, hopefully once a strong Michigan advocate in his inner circle cocked an eyebrow at him.

Stranges has been invited to the NTDP, which usually announces its new U17 team in late April, so it won't take long to know which way he's going. FWIW, plugged in persons still think NTDP:

It is unusual for an NTDP kid to not follow through on a college commitment, because there's no wait to get into the tougher league and "hockey plus college" is better than "hockey and college later if you don't play 18 months pro."

Owen Power: 2nd round, #22, Flint. On the other hand, Flint is a league-owned mediocrity with little appeal. Power is safe unless and until he gets traded. There are no compensatory picks outside of the first round, so there's no timeline. Power was likely to be a top 5 pick until he committed, so his drop indicates that the OHL took it at least somewhat seriously.

Jacob Truscott: 5th round, London. London again but deep enough in the draft that it's a flier for a guy with Truscott's quality. He's also an NTDP invite.

Mitchell Smith, 5th round, Saginaw. This would be shrug territory except for the article that the local paper put out when Smith committed to Michigan:

"One thing you learn about hockey is that it has a huge network. You have to choose the right people to believe, the right people to trust. To have people like Brendan and Brian [Kischnick] giving advice is invaluable."

And if that means ultimately choosing to play college hockey, Michigan is not a bad destination.

"Michigan presented us with a good situation … basically he would have a chance to play right away," Tim Smith said. "And a Michigan education is pretty nice too."

The Kischnicks mentioned are father and son, the younger is Smith's D-partner. Kischnick committed to the OHL route after being picked in the sixth round and sent back to AAA this year. If that's the advice the Smiths are listening to, he gone. Also Smith is from Saginaw.

Cole McWard: 11th round, Kitchener. Patrick Guzzo: 13th round, Oshawa. Flier territory. Kitchener used to be a London level threat but has dropped off the radar recently.

Andrei Bakanov: N/A. Bakanov was widely expected to be a top ten pick but was not eligible for some reason or another despite having played his most recent two years of junior in OHL territory. The reason is probably "didn't bother to apply":

He's likely be a USHL tender.

UPSHOT

Michigan's likely to lose Perfetti and Smith; what's left over is still Michigan's best class in forever as long as Stranges sticks.