Film Room: Why Alberts Šmits will be a unique top-ten pick at the 2026 NHL Draft
Alberts Šmits is not your average prospect.
That becomes evident after just a quick glance of his Elite Prospects page. To pursue his hockey dream, the Latvian defenceman moved abroad alone at just 13-years-old. It took him four seasons to earn a Liiga debut as a 17-year-old, already showing potential for a major breakout ahead of his draft year.
Breaking out is exactly what Šmits ended up doing. In the fall, it quickly became clear that he was way beyond junior hockey, rapidly finding himself playing full-time top-pairing minutes with Jukurit. His rise was equally blistering on our draft board, having reached the top-10 by November.
Šmits’ international resume from this season is unique, too. Not only was he the go-to defenceman for Latvia at the World Juniors, but he has also already become a key piece of the men’s national team. The youngest player in February’s Olympics tournament, we already have tape of him playing significant minutes against NHL stars. There’s also a good chance he ends up closing out his season at the men’s World Championships, after having spent his last league stretch on a loan in DEL.
Now unanimously projected to go among the first 10 players, even competing for a top-5 selection, let’s take a closer look at the qualities behind Šmits’ ascension.
Rush defence
Šmits’ ability to kill rushes is not only one of his biggest strengths, but it’s also among the very best in this draft class. Utilizing his excellent mobility, speed, size, reach, and a high level of aggression, he seeks to stop rushes as early as possible.
It all starts in the offensive zone, where he uses aggressive pinches to keep pucks in, preventing breakout attempts from ever even turning into proper rushes.
His approach in the other zones is the same: Employ tight, aggressive gaps, a strong stick, and ideally lay a heavy hit to kill the rush early and put himself in the best possible position for a potential retrieval. His ability to surf across, stick, and win retrieval races—even with the fastest puck carriers at the pro level—has been impressive.
While his overall hockey sense has raised questions among our scouting staff all season, it’s not an issue in this area. Šmits’ ability to find his check before closing the gap and smothering the target has been a consistent strength.
Defensive zone
Šmits, as an NHL-level in-zone defender, might require a bit more imagination compared to some of the other areas. The same qualities that make him an effective rush defender also elevate him here.
Having played mostly with teams who employ a man-on-man defensive scheme this season, he's mostly been tasked with finding his assignments and sticking with them, taking away their space to operate. And that's where he excels.
However, Šmits does have a tendency to get a bit more creative with it. When he sees a chance to get to the puck before a teammate, he’ll go — even if that means overtaking his teammate or leaving his own assignment, making things difficult not only for him but also for others in the defensive structure.
The second he thinks his team has won possession, he’ll jump out wide looking for a breakout pass or to join the rush, even if the puck hasn't been fully secured yet. He also arrives late in the defensive zone somewhat frequently after offensive activations on rushes that didn’t end up materializing.
How much of that is an actual hockey sense issue as opposed to coaching and simply refining his decision-making is hard to say, which has made a hotly debated topic among our staff, too.
Still, Šmits has all of the tools to develop into a high-end NHL defender. Unlike all of the other draft-eligibles, he's already had the chance to show he can defend against the likes of Leon Draisaitl and Auston Matthews during the Olympics.
But the fact that he’s shown the same question marks at all levels this season—from U20 SM-sarja to Liiga, DEL, World Juniors and men’s national team—does continue to give us some pause with his defensive projection.
Retrievals
Retrievals have been perhaps Šmits’ biggest area of strength this season. His willingness to be first to every loose puck and win every battle may create issues elsewhere, but it’s a major driver of his retrieval success.
Šmits has excellent speed and uses it to win footraces, never slowing down until he reaches the puck. Before he gets there, he’ll read what’s behind him, time his arrival, and initiate contact to stay in control, using his body to shield the puck and his edges to spin away and create space. This will allow him to either kick the puck out to a teammate or take a few strides himself before dishing out a breakout pass.
When he’s second into a retrieval battle, he’ll quickly pin his opponent against the boards, engage his stick, and outmuscle him, allowing his teammate to recover the puck.
Winning retrieval races and battles is highly crucial for defencemen in today’s NHL. The fact that it’s not only Šmits’ best attribute but a proven strength at the highest levels of men’s hockey makes our staff very confident that we could see him in the NHL as soon as next season.
Breakouts, regroups, and carries
Like all other parts of his game, Šmits’ puck play is built around his skating ability, physicality, and constant desire to get involved in every play. He uses his strong edges to create space, powerful crossovers to pick up speed, and a commanding stride to blast through coverage, with the frame and power to protect the puck and drive through contact.
Once he gets moving, he’s difficult to slow down. He also possesses strong passing skill. When he keeps things simple, he shows a projectable NHL game with the puck in all zones.
He does tend to be a bit overeager, though. Looking to push the pace and get the puck up ice whenever he's in possession of it, things can get a little complicated and chaotic, which often results in his signature move: the self-dump and chase.
This area of Šmits’ game shows a lot of raw potential, but he will need to improve his awareness and decision-making to better identify his options, find the best one, and execute on them to avoid plays dying in the corners and taking himself out of position.
Offensive play
Like one might guess, Šmits' style of offence is highly aggressive, being constantly pulled into action.
Šmits doesn’t stay stationary at the blue line for long. He frequently activates, either pinching down the boards or exploiting gaps in coverage while his teammate has the puck.
There's a clear attacker's mentality to his game: He's always searching for ways to involve himself offensively and get touches on the puck, even if that means staying involved on the forecheck or engaging near the net-front for extended periods.
At times, that aggressiveness can be too much. Coaches typically want numbers above the puck to avoid odd-man rushes, but Šmits will often jump up regardless of who or what is behind him.
For the most part this season, that has worked out well enough for him, but it’s another question mark for his NHL projection: How much of it is a hockey sense issue, how much is simply a matter of further maturing?
On the other hand, the consistent pressure is also what makes him dangerous. There are legitimate flashes of dynamism off the blue line, in addition to frequently finding open space on rushes and inside the zone. He has power play upside at the NHL level, too, thanks to his good passing and a heavy shot.
While the overall package is sometimes volatile, Šmits' offensive instincts and willingness to dictate the play give him the potential to become a special player.
Personality
Šmits has been a hot topic for his on-ice play all season, but more than many others, he’s also shown a glimpse into his character. Adjectives such as bold, witty, and confident all apply.
Asked at the World Juniors which NHL players he liked to watch and model his game after, he simply responded, “I don’t have favourite players”.
Šmits knows what he can do, and that’s all he worries about. While not guaranteeing success, this level of confidence can be huge for a young prospect trying to find his way to stardom. On having to go through media availabilities every day and the pressure that comes with it, he responded with a big sigh in his voice: “I don’t have any other options, I just talk with you people”.
Perhaps most importantly, though, his confidence doesn’t seem to clash with the expectations of drafting a team player: “First and foremost, I want to fulfill my intended role,” he told Red Bull Munich after his move from Finland. “That's the best way I can help the team win games. It has to fit into the system; it's not about me.”
There's no question about Šmits becoming an NHL defenceman, and likely a good one, too.
He simply has too many things going for him, from his frame and physical tools to his ultra-active style, and even his personality. We project that he'll be able to compete for and win a spot on the lineup of the team that drafts him as early as next fall.
Whether he's able to turn into a true top-pairing force remains to be seen, and it likely depends on how much he's able to hone in on his reads on both sides of the puck.
His aggressive style and skating are bound to create potential offensive openings, and he'll have to learn how to better take advantage of them. His mobility and the defensive range it provides, in addition to his physical edge and battle level, are bound to generate stops, but he'll have to add a layer of consistency and learn to pick his spots of aggression better.
If everything comes together, though, Šmits could become a high-end, two-way play driver from the backend and a player that every coach would love to have in their lineup.
