The Unsung Jacob Smith [1/2]

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Jacob Smith of the Davos Dynamo is a good all around defenseman with a strong defensive presence, paired with the ability to contribute here and there on the offensive end. His career so far, however, has been a tale of two entirely different players, as is so often the case when a player makes the jump from the VHLM to the bigs. Smith was a workhorse in the VHLM and his numbers ended up bearing out the fruit of his efforts with two decent years. In the VHL, he certainly has some room for development but he's working hard and improving every week, rounding out into a solid young player for Davos. 

 

In the VHLM, Smith spent S60 and S61 on Oslo, where he performed well on both ends of the ice. Oslo selected him with the 13th pick in the S60 VHLM draft, in a draft that looked much deeper at the time than it ended up being. Smith has outperformed 5 of the people who were drafted ahead of him, who have already fallen out of the league. S60 was a developmental year as the first year always is, but even then, he performed admirably. 12 goals and 57 assists for 69 points put him just short of a point per game, and 158 hits and 118 shot blocks gave him a well rounded presence - well worth his draft selection. Coincidentally, in S60, the Oslo equipment manager misspelled his name, listing him as "Smitch" which unfortunately has carried over to his career stats page, which at this time doesn't list any of his S60 stats. In S61, over the course of the season, he accrued 34 goals and 54 assists for a total of 88 points, well over a point per game pace. Defensively, he also had 190 hits and 103 shot blocks, proving his strength in his own zone as well. This time, everything was done correctly and the stats have shown up as they should.

 

In the VHL, Smith is in his first season, and it hasn't really been one to remember. He's scored 7 goals and 11 assists for a total of 18 points in 64 games. His defensive game hasn't taken as much of a hit though, with 166 hits and 85 shot blocks - the hits are right in line with his two VHLM seasons, and the shot blocks are only a little down because Davos is a strong team. Nonetheless, this is to be expected in a first VHL season, where a player will go from a league where everyone is around their level to a league where so many guys are in their primes, with several more seasons of development. S62 might not be a season to remember statistically for Smith, but it's certainly been a season that has allowed him to develop well and get accustomed to the pace of the league, where he will almost certainly be one to watch next season, perhaps even a contender for most improved. He has certainly lived up to his 12th overall draft selection, especially when taken into context the fact that Mikhail Vega was selected 9th. This is definitely a player to keep an eye on, as his development continues and his role expands within the league. 

 

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@jacobaa19

Also: @Will I'm not sure if this is a portal issue or a sim issue, but his S60 stats are in the index as "Smitch" and therefore have not crossed over to his portal page.

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Post indicating the bonus points

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Review:

Very, very solid player. That was a great draft too, actually.

Good write-up.