Will Smith and Ryan Leonard are two names New England hockey fans have known for quite a while.
Smith, a Lexington, Mass., native, came up through the ranks with the Boston Junior Eagles before heading to St. Sebastian's. In the western part of Massachusetts, Leonard, a native of Amherst, Mass., was taking the region by storm with the Springfield Rifles and Pope Francis High School.
Both secured spots with the United States National Team Development Program and after two seasons in Plymouth, Mich., they're two names that have become familiar to hockey fans across the country.
Even more will know their names in two weeks when they are expected to be called in the first round of the NHL Draft.
New England is no stranger to producing top NHL Draft prospects. Since 2015, nine New England natives have walked across the stage in Round 1.
Smith and Leonard are certainly two of the higher-ranking prospects to come from New England. NHL Central Scouting's final rankings listed Smith as the No. 3 prospect among North American skaters, slating him only being Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli. Leonard came in at No. 5.
"These guys are ranked in the top five on our list for a reason," NHL Central Scouting's David Gregory told New England Hockey Journal. "We think that's where they project. These are guys who are going to be stars that we're comparing other young players to in the next five years."
Most mock drafts and rankings have Smith somewhere in the No. 3-5 range, while Leonard comes in anywhere from No. 5 to No. 11. They will become centerpieces of some NHL team's prospect pool.
So how does the duo compare with the hype of past NHL Draft prospects from New England?
I wanted to take a trip back in time to see how those previous top prospects were ranked and looked at heading into their drafts.
Matt Beniers
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 2 by the Seattle Kraken in 2021
Beniers just wrapped up his first full season in the NHL. The Hingham, Mass., native posted 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games and led the Kraken to within a game of the Western Conference Final. He's a favorite for the Calder Trophy as the best rookie.
But two years ago, there wasn't a consensus on whether Beniers would be worth the second overall pick.
Beniers spent the 2020-21 season raising his stock as a freshman at the University of Michigan. He finished the season with 24 points in 24 games. Even though he was an 18-year-old finding success at the NCAA level, there were still other players in the hunt for spots inside the top 10.
Bleacher Report and The Hockey News both ranked him at No. 5. NHL.com had Beniers ranked No. 7 at midseason.
In draft guru Corey Pronman's final ranking, he placed Beniers at No. 5 and said this: "My job is to give my opinion on what I currently see, which is a below-average top of the draft with the rest looking rather standard, but the future is uncertain and there are certainly candidates in this class with the potential to pop and become stars. If any of Owen Power, Luke Hughes, Dylan Guenther, William Eklund or Kent Johnson become perennial All-Stars, I wouldn't blink."
That's not a slight at Pronman — he gets a lot right and is well-versed in draft prospects. It just shows what the general feeling around the top of the 2021 Draft was, although Sportsnet did have Beniers at No. 2 in its final rankings, saying "He is the safest pick in the class. A Dylan Larkin-type that a team will want to keep forever."
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NHL Central Scouting tagged Beniers as the No. 6 North American skater.
"He was the kind of player that we knew was going to be a candidate for the top half of the first round all along," Gregory said. "It's just where was he going to go?"
Mackie Samoskevich
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 24 by the Florida Panthers in 2021Â
While Beniers spent the season prior to the draft at Michigan, Samoskevich was with the USHL's Chicago Steel and committed to Michigan for 2021-22. He posted 37 points in 36 games for the Steel in 2020-21.
The Newtown, Conn., native was ranked at No. 26 in The Hockey News' final draft rankings. Pronman ranked him at No. 45, saying, "In a sentence, Samoskevich projects as an NHL bottom-six forward."
NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 26 among North American skaters. Samoskevich stood out for his vision and offensive creativity. His skating helped establish him as a first-round talent, too.
"He was a player that we identified as a first-round candidate right from the beginning in his draft year," Gregory said. "That was a pretty strong draft class. That's good praise for someone that ends up being drafted in the first round and listed in the first round."
Samoskevich spent this past season with Michigan, posting 20 goals and 43 points in 39 games. When the Wolverines fell to Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four, Samoskevich turned pro, going to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.
Matt Boldy
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 12 by the Minnesota Wild in 2019
Boldy was a member of the stacked NTDP U18 squad in 2018-19 that featured Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield and Avon Old Farms alum Trevor Zegras. The Millis, Mass., native ranked fourth on that team in scoring with 81 points.
But his biggest growth from when he entered the program to when he finished was his literal growth — he went from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-2.
"As he got better, he started to understand how to use his size," Gregory said. "He was always skilled and always saw the ice well — always could make an impact. As he grew and was able to use size as another asset, it just made him a real complete player."
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The rankings and mock drafts at the time had Boldy somewhere in the first half of the first round.
NHL Central Scouting had him at No. 9 for North American skaters. NHL.com's mock draft, which was done by three different writers, had him going at No. 10, No. 11 and No. 16. Sportsnet slated him at No. 12.
Sporting News had him at No. 7, saying, "Pencil him in for multiple Selke nominations." Pronman's final draft ranking put him at No. 8.
The Dexter Southfield alum has proven the Minnesota Wild right. Since arriving in the NHL, Boldy's been a mainstay. In his first full season in 2021-22, he had 39 points in 47 games, and he notched 63 points in 81 games his second season. On Jan. 16, he signed a seven-year, $49 million deal.
Spencer Knight
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 13 by the Florida Panthers in 2019
It's hard to relate Smith and Leonard to a goaltender, but Knight was regarded highly in 2019. Like Boldy, Knight was another high-profile player from that NTDP U18 team.
Sportsnet, Sporting News and NHL.com's mock draft all tabbed the Darien, Conn., native going to Florida at No. 13.
"Taking a goalie this high is a major league gamble," Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino said. "But Knight looks to be the once-in-a-decade Luongo/Fleury/Price/Vasilevskiy."
There is one valid comparison from Knight's experience to Smith and Leonard's.
What helped Knight's draft stock was an incredible performance at the 2019 U18 world championship. The then-Boston College commit posted a 1.51 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage in six games.
Smith and Leonard both improved their stock with gold medal-winning performances at the U18 world championships, too. Smith led the tournament in points with 20, while Leonard ranked third with 17 and scored the overtime-winning goal in the championship game.
Oliver Wahlstrom
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 11 by the New York Islanders in 2018
If you were a youth hockey player in New England in the late 2000s and early 2010s, you knew who Wahlstrom was.
In 2009, before social media had even taken off, Wahlstrom, then a member of the Portland Junior Pirates, went viral on YouTube for one of the wildest and most impressive shootout goals ever. He became an accidental influencer when the video sent thousands of kids across the region trying the move at their next hockey practice (I was definitely one of them).
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However, that wasn't what made Wahlstrom a first-round talent in 2018. It was his standout U18 season with the NTDP team in 2017-18, when he scored 48 goals and had 94 points in 62 games. He also notched seven goals in seven games at the 2018 U18 world championships.
"He always was a goal scorer," Gregory said. "He always could finish and as he got stronger and older and his shot developed, he was just a threat just about every time he was inside the blue line and could score from distance, which is something as you get to the National Hockey League level, you almost have to be able to do or it's going to be tough for you to be successful."
NHL Central Scouting ranked him at No. 7 among North American skaters. Both Dobber Prospects and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had him at No. 5, while Chris Peters, then of ESPN, ranked him at No. 6. Pronman's mock draft saw him get taken off the board at No. 8.
In terms of where they're ranked in the draft, Leonard seems to be closest to Wahlstrom.
Jay O'Brien
Taken in Round 1, Pick 19 by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2018 NHL Draft
O'Brien's selection at No. 19 was a bit of a shocker. NHL Central Scouting had him at No. 32 among North American skaters. While Dobber Prospects ranked him inside the first round at No. 25, Wheeler's final rankings placed him at No. 69 and Peters slated him at No. 74.
"We saw him as a value pick in the second or third round early on," Gregory said. "Then clearly a second-round pick and a threat to be in the first and it just was a matter of what a team's need was."
So, how did O'Brien boost his draft stock in his draft year? The Hingham, Mass., native opted to stay at Thayer for his senior year and absolutely torched the competition, posting 43 goals and 80 points in 30 games.
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"He was a very dominant player with a lot of skill who could play at pace at the high school level," Gregory said. "I think that's what the buzz around him was — here's someone that could have a ton of upside."
O'Brien went straight from Thayer to Providence College in 2018-19, but after only scoring five points in 25 games, went to the Penticton Vees of the BCHL in 2019-20, before heading to Boston University.
He just finished his third season with BU, scoring 32 points in 39 games and helping the Terriers get to the Frozen Four.
Jack Eichel
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 2 by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015
Eichel would've been the No. 1 overall pick in almost any other draft. But a fairly good player named Connor McDavid existed so...Eichel went No. 2.
And that's how Eichel was viewed the whole season leading up to his draft — as the No. 2 prospect. He had 71 points in 40 games in his lone season at BU, when he won the Hobey Baker Award and led the Terriers to the national championship game.
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"Our colleagues that stayed in the New England region, they're like 'How can there be a player better than [Eichel] in the draft? Like how good can this Connor McDavid be?'" Gregory said. "That's how good Jack was."
While Smith is a top-five draft pick and Leonard most likely will go inside the top 10, Eichel was the region's most talented NHL prospect in recent history.
Noah Hanifin
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 5 by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015
In 2010-11, Gregory and a colleague took in a St. Sebastian's game to watch NHL Draft eligible players. Instead, the player who caught their eye was an eighth-grader on defense. It was Hanifin.
Fast forward a bunch of years and Hanifin was at Boston College in 2014-15 leading up to his draft year and highly regarded.
"I remember us talking as a group like this is a player that will play 15 years in the NHL for you," Gregory said.
NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 3 among North American skaters, while TSN's Bob McKenzie had him ranked No. 3.
Sportsnet ranked him fourth in that draft, saying, "Hanifin has been the consensus No. 3 selection most of the year, but now rumors abound as to what the Arizona Coyotes might have in mind for that pick. Such as maybe taking Dylan Strom, who is the third-best player in the draft on more than a few lists."
Hanifin fell to No. 5. The Boston native played three seasons for the Carolina Hurricanes before being shipped to the Calgary Flames. He's played there ever since.
Colin White
Drafted in Round 1, Pick 21 by the Ottawa Senators in 2015
White was a point-per-game player for the NTDP U18 team entering his draft, having posted 54 points in 54 games. While NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 29 among North American skaters, the Nobles alum landed at No. 16 on McKenzie's rankings.
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"You knew this guy was going to be a contributor," Gregory said. "He was always playing at pace, saw the ice well and a really great competitor."
White has played for both the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers.
