Ty Smith Working Away From The Puck, Logging Big Minutes On AHL Penguins Blue Line

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Finishing up a Friday night win against Laval with a quick turnaround - an overnight 3-hour bus ride to Hartford, Connecticut in advance of a Saturday night tilt against the Wolf Pack - left little time Friday night after the final horn sounded.

But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Ty Smith was gracious with his time - joining InsideAHLHockey.com and other media outlets on a zoom call to answer questions about Friday night's win, his reaction to being reassigned to the American Hockey League (AHL), the work he's putting into his game and more.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins tight against the salary cap and forced to begin the season with a 21-man roster despite being allowed to have as many as 23 players on the roster, decisions were made to place defensemen Mark Friedman on waivers as well as reassigning newly acquired (& former 2018-1st round pick) Ty Smith to their AHL affiliate.

For Smith, it was his first time being sent to the minor league following his first two years in pro hockey being spent in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils, where he recorded 43 points (seven goals, 36 assists) in 114 games across that span.

"I didn't really think too much about it, I was just trying to play hockey," Smith said in response to being asked about his reaction to being assigned to the AHL, and how being the only defenseman remaining in training camp this fall that was waiver-exempt possibly played into that decision by Pittsburgh.

"It happened. Maybe I was a bit surprised, but at the same time obviously the guys there [in Pittsburgh] are all really good players and all had good camps."

Through three games, AHL Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest has been pleased with Smith's play - giving him big minutes on what has been the top pairing with Smith and Friedman together, with Smith logging power play time and shifts in all three zones.

"I mean, he's been great since he's been here," Forrest said of Smith. "As a player, clearly, he's got some dynamic offensive ability, his play-making through the neutral zone and being able to find guys is just really hard to read. Up on the power play getting shots through and finding the guys open in a position to attack. He's been really good at that."

Smith helped the Penguins open the scoring Friday night on the power play, taking a pass from Drake Caggiula at the right point and smoothly skating his way to the middle to open things up for a pass to Alex Nylander at the top of the circle for a bar-down snipe. The assist gave Smith points in all three games he's played this season (one goal, two assists).

Smith's teammate, forward Nathan Legare, sees Smith's offensive abilites on full display - both in games and at practice.

"Especially on the powerplay, you can see that he's kind of dancing on the on the blue line, so it's fun to watch," Legare said of Smith's ability to keep pucks in the offensive zone and weave his way around to create space for both himself and his teammates. "Even sometimes in practice, when I'm trying to forecheck him and he is kind of dancing on me. So that's, that's kind of funny," Legare added. "He's a really good guy, too. Really big talent, but also, he works hard in practice and in games. So I think that's why he's been pretty good for us so far."

But the offensive ability not the reason Smith was assigned to the WBS Penguins, as Smith has displayed smooth skating and puck-moving abilities with offensive instincts that translate at the highest level. Reading between the lines in conversations with both Smith and Forrest, the notion that his play without the puck and in the defensive zone are areas he needs to improve upon to round out his game in steps to becoming a more reliable player.

"And I think some of the areas that you want [him] to work on, he's been focused there, too," Forrest said of Smith's play in Friday night's game. "I thought he had some really good defensive plays [Friday night], as far as some little adjustments that he's been making to his game to try to just, you know, shore up that part of it. You wouldn't know that it's his first stint in the American Hockey League. And he's got no... he's not pouting or doing anything [like that]. He's just using the opportunity to try to improve. Not all guys would handle it that way. So we're happy he's doing it. And he's got that approach tells you a lot about who he is, as a guy and how important it is for him to keep improving as a hockey player."

For now, Smith continues to work on his overall game while logging a ton of ice time in a top pairing role. With five defensemen on Pittsburgh's current roster 31 years of age or older, it's more a matter of when and not if Smith returns to the NHL as he figures to be a part of the Penguins blue line plans for years to come.

"Everyone [in the AHL] is working that much harder," Smith said of entering his first three-games-in-three-nights weekend in the AHL and his overall first impressions of league. "Everyone wants to get called up, so it's kind of just trying to work on my game here and keep going."