Prospect Update: Tarin Smith

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks drafted defenseman Tarin Smith in the third round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, 79th overall. He played his final season in the WHL this past season, and served as the Everett Silvertips’ captain for the year.

Smith is an offensive defenseman and his final season of junior hockey showed it. After recording 60 points in 65 games the previous season, he scored 16 goals and 71 points in 65 games this past year. He finished second on the team in defensive scoring and was tied for the team lead in defensive assists. The only defenseman better than him was Landon Dupont, who will likely be one of the top picks of the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. In the entire WHL, Smith finished seventh in scoring among defensemen and tied for second in assists. Everett made the playoffs, but unfortunately Smith was injured for most of their run. He played in only four games and recorded two assists. The Silvertips made it all the way to the Memorial Cup Final where they lost to the Kitchener Rangers.

I had two expectations for Smith last summer, and he was able to meet one of them. First, I wanted him to score at a point per game pace or better this past season, which he was able to do. Second, I wanted him to lead his team on a deeper playoff run. While Everett did go on that deep playoff run, Smith’s injury forcing him to miss almost all of it keeps him from meeting this expectation.

Smith’s junior career has come to an end, and he’ll be heading to the NCAA next season, where he’ll play for the University of Minnesota. He’ll be joining fellow Anaheim prospect Austin Burnevik there, who transferred to Minnesota over the summer. Smith will be one of four defensemen on Minnesota who are currently drafted by an NHL team.

With a new team and league in front of him, I have a few expectations for Smith this season. There’s no question that his overall offensive output will drop, but I’d like to see Smith finish as one of the top three assist and point producers among Minnesota’s defensemen. Their top defenseman from a year ago, Luke Mittelstadt, has turned pro, and no other defensemen recorded more than seven points for Minnesota last season. Second, for Smith to play in a majority of Minnesota’s games. And finally, for him to get stronger as the season goes on. Many players in the CHL head to the NCAA so they can increase their overall strength, and I’d like to see Smith be even stronger a year from now.

Smith is still a few years away from making it to the NHL. He’s got one or two years of college hockey ahead of him, and then time in the minors before he’s likely going to get a chance. If he develops quickly and everything goes right for him, we could see him as early as the 2028-2029 season in Anaheim, but I think the 2029-2030 or 2030-2031 seasons are more likely.

Smith is currently not signed by the Ducks, and Anaheim will control his rights for at least two more years. According to PuckPedia, if Smith decides to stay in school longer, the Ducks will actually retain his rights until summer 2030. While I don’t think he’ll spend four years playing NCAA hockey, I do think Smith will play at Minnesota for one to two years and then sign his entry-level deal with Anaheim.

The next prospect update will be on forward Emile Guite.

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Prospect Update: Lucas Pettersson

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September 7th, 2026