In His First Competitive Game Played In A Devils' Jersey, Ty Smith Casually Notched A Hat Trick7/16/2018
Unlike some overreactive fans inevitably will, I'm not about to lose my lid over a hat trick scored in a scrimmage. I suppose I understand why some might look at a defense whose left side is nearly as lacking of qualified candidates as the most recent Presidential election and a left-handed defenseman who possesses the perfect skill set for long term success, and want to the force the latter into the office of the former as soon as possible. After all, you'd have to go back to a time well before Lou Lamoriello actively decided he was too damn old to adapt to find a Devils' development camp that was as rich with young talent, and even then you'd still have a hard time coming across one in which a defenseman was immediately the most consistent catalyst at both ends of the ice. Simply put, what Ty Smith did on Saturday was force the focus unto himself from a position that's not inherently flashy. For that reason alone, the stat line of the first round pick that fortuitously went without regard before floating to the top of New Jersey's prospect pool might encourage the idle hands that are the Devils fans' playground to start writing his name onto the wall as quick fix when he still has a long way to go before manning an NHL blue line. The proper way to view Ty Smith is to treat him like a meal that's slowly simmering in the crock pot. We just got an intoxicating sniff of the first waft and were more than pleasantly surprised to see how the ingredients were coming together as perfectly as advertised in the recipe (i.e. scouting report). We're still a ways away from getting fat off the finished product, but - while patience is key to perfecting its preparation - the belief that there's not much tinkering to be done to guarantee the fulfillment of a true two-way, top-4 defenseman has been rationalized by way of sensory overload. It's called developmental camp for a reason and it's not a reason that Ty Smith is an exception to. He still has a lot of maturing to do before he's comfortably maneuvering around all three zones of an NHL ice surface against those that have proven themselves on it. That said, it sure looked like most of that much-needed maturation is physical as opposed to mental, and thinking the game at a high level is the biggest hurdle for young defenseman. Surely the 19 year old still has a lot to learn as well, but he's already looking like someone that has the ability to take everything in stride en route to the finish line that marks the start of his professional career. That's great news for an organization that will more than likely be anxiously awaiting it.
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