New Jersey Devils Ty Smith
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

New Jersey Devils’ top prospect, Ty Smith, provided a glimpse of what the future blue line will entail. 

The New Jersey Devils haven’t had this much hype about a potential star defenseman since the team selected Adam Larsson with the fourth-overall selection back at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

But that was then. This is now and defenseman Ty Smith may just exceed expectations when he makes it to the big club sometime in the near future.

New Jersey’s 2018 first-round draft pick (17th overall), netted a hat-trick in Saturday’s Red vs. White Development Camp scrimmage.

Of course, the 18-year-old blueliner led the Red Team to a 5-4 victory and also found the back of the net twice in the first period. While the scrimmage only lasted two periods of play, that’s still a promising sign for all of New Jersey.

The 5-foot-11 defenseman was all smiles on Saturday and what’s even more assuring is how comfortable Smith appeared to be on the ice. The reality is that experiencing that comfort level is a key aspect for top NHL prospects, especially during their first stage of displaying what they’ll eventually have to offer for the big club.

For the youngsters, with comfort comes confidence.

If confidence for Smith can be flying at an all-time high this early in the process for his expected NHL career, the left-handed shot may be the dynamic defenseman that the team has been missing for more than a decade now.

Keep in mind that Smith more than likely won’t make the New Jersey Devils official roster this season, but his impressive showing at Development Camp should carry over to his play next season with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Spokane Chiefs.

Having a commodity on the backend such as the Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native is without a doubt something that’s been absent in the Devils’ pipeline for far too long, but Smith is making his case that this New Jersey flaw is on the verge of now being a thing of the past.

Video: The Development Camp Red vs. White Scrimmage Can Be Seen Here

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Kyle McKenna is a freelancer who covers the NHL for Elite Sports New York, Hooked On Hockey Magazine & Fansided. Follow him on Twitter @KMcKenna_tLT5 and use the hashtag #McKennasDigest to have your NHL questions featured in an article or answered over his weekly NHL podcast.