It feels like Guy Gadowsky, Penn State’s men’s hockey coach, is describing a wild horse galloping at full speed when asked what it’s been like working with Jackson Smith, a freshman defenseman the Blue Jackets selected 14th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
“First of all, he’s an absolute thoroughbred,” Gadowsky said Oct. 30 at Value City Arena. “He’s 6-foot-4, he moves like a ballerina … he’s a beautiful hockey player.”
It’s fitting that Smith, 18, is from Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta.
About 70 miles north of his hometown sits Sundre, a town of about 2,300 people that has a wild horse population of almost 1,000. They run free along the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, providing a breathtaking sight for all who see them run.
For Gadowsky and others, watching Smith get his 6-4, 204-pound frame up to speed in a flash, effortlessly, has a similar effect. Smith is light on his skates, but also explosive. His crossovers are nearly perfect. His edgework is artistic.
Smith doesn’t skate as much as he floats, and his skills with a shiny white stick in his hands are just as impressive. Heavy wrist shots. Lasers that sneak through traffic. One-time slappers that leave vapor trails. Exit passes, seam passes and drop passes, all tape-to-tape. Body checks, stick checks.
Even Gadowsky finds himself staring from time-to-time, and he evaluates players by the dozens in recruiting.
“He’s just so fun and beautiful to watch,” Gadowsky said. “I watch him every day at practice, and you get mesmerized, and I’ll catch myself in the games doing the same thing. He’s just a beautiful athlete to watch, and the sky’s the limit for this kid.”
Jackson Smith picked Penn State for NHL development
Along with winning games for the Nittany Lions, Gadowsky’s role is to provide launching pads for players like Smith and freshman forward Gavin McKenna, who’s expected to go first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft.
They’re two of seven players who are either connected to NHL teams already or draft eligible prospects. Penn State has become one of the NCAA’s top programs since introducing Pegula Ice Arena and its top shelf training facilities in 2013.
Smith, McKenna and others who’ve shifted from Canada’s top junior division to NCAA programs wouldn’t have been eligible in years past, but the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness deals prompted that rule’s elimination. And that’s how Gadowsky lassoed a couple of wild horses from the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers (McKenna) and Tri-City Americans (Smith).
The lure of elite training staff and facilities, shorter schedules, air travel over bus rides, competing against more physically developed collegiate players and a heightened intensity playing fewer games were too enticing to turn down.
“That’s a big reason why I came to Penn State,” Smith said. “I love playing more hockey (in the WHL), which was tough (to give up), but coming here and getting in the gym more was about getting bigger and stronger, so I can be ready for the next level.”
Smith has tacked on almost 10 pounds since arriving at Penn State for training camp, and it’s good weight.
“I feel stronger out there already, and it’s only been two months,” he said. “It’s more intensity (in college) and less time and space, which is like the NHL, or closer to it. I’m just getting more NHL ready.”
As a defenseman, Smith probably has two-plus years left, at least, before he’s deemed ready to take a full-time NHL role with the Blue Jackets.
They appear set on defense for several years after re-signing Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro this past summer, so there’s no need to rush Smith. Whether he spends multiple years at Penn State or hops to the professional game to keep developing with AHL Cleveland, his path to the NHL is earmarked.
That’s why it’s a luxury to play collegiately for a team that visits Columbus each season for games at Ohio State and plays most of its games within the Big Ten’s footprint. After spending time in Columbus for NHL development camp in July, Smith has already developed a familiarity with the city and keeps in regular contact with Blue Jackets development coach Tommy Cross.
Smith also met with Blue Jackets president/general manager Don Waddell on Oct. 30, prior to a 3-2 win over Ohio State. While he didn’t get a goal or assist in that game, skating on the Nittany Lions’ top pairing and first power play, Smith showed every tantalizing gift that makes him a wild horse from Calgary.
“It’s the feet, it’s the legs, it’s the frame,” Gudowsky said. “There are guys as big as him. There’s a few guys who can skate like him. But very seldom do you see them packaged together.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social