With the 14th pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets have selected Jackson Smith from the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
About Jackson Smith
One of this year’s most skilled two-way defensemen, Jackson Smith, does it all on both ends of the ice. He took his offensive game to another level this season, more than doubling his assist total (43 this season, 21 last season) while putting up 54 total points. As one of the top defensemen in the draft class, he also had the chance to showcase his skills at international tournaments, playing in both the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the Under-18 World Junior Championships (WJC) for Canada.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Tracker
The Tri-City Americans defenseman looked solid in the tournaments he played in while representing his country and took part in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. While he did not record a point in the two-game series, Smith looked rock solid on both ends of the ice and made his presence felt when he was on the ice, further helping solidify his spot as one of the top-end talents of the 2025 Draft.
THW Prospect Profile Excerpt
“Although he’s scoring at a fairly high level, Smith’s point-scoring isn’t quite what stands out. Notably, he has shown impressive puck-moving potential in Tri-City, aiding the flow of games. Zone exits are a regularly overlooked aspect of a defenseman, but they might be one of the most valuable—he has shown great poise in this department. Smith gets a lot of puck touches, and he is depended upon to advance it up the ice.”
“As an in-zone passer, Smith has been quite bold. He’s not afraid to contribute offensively, which has made him somewhat of an assist-scoring dynamo (0.65 per game; just above Carter Yakemchuk‘s draft year and just below his draft-plus-one season to this point). Due to Smith’s aggressiveness, and also his transitional play mentioned above, it’s not hard to connect the dots—the Americans scored 3.03 goals per game in 2023-24 (20th out of 22 in WHL) and are scoring 3.55 per contest in 2024-25 (13th out of 22 in WHL). The pace switches when he hops on the ice.”
Full player profile can be found here.
How This Affects the Blue Jackets’ Plans
Smith immediately climbs toward the top of the Blue Jackets’ defensive prospects with the skill he has. His game at both ends of the ice, with the upside he brings offensively, will make him a threat in a top-four pairing when he does make the jump to the NHL. He is committed to Penn State starting this upcoming season, so it will likely take a few seasons before he impacts the Blue Jackets’ lineup. The addition of Smith gives the Blue Jackets plenty of hope and excitement for the future of the backend of their lineup to go along with young players such as Denton Mateychuk and Luca Marrelli.
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