Tri City Ams D-Man Jackson Smith 14th Overall Pick in NHL Draft

Defenseman Jackson Smith of the Tri-City Americans was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Jackson is headed to Penn State this fall

Tri City fans this last year will be able to say "we watched him play when he was here..."

The talented D-man from Calgary Alberta was quickly projected as a likely 1st-Round pick, especially after he scored 54 points in 68 games with the Americans. His effort made it clear he was a special player.

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According to the Blue Jackets website:

"Players with his combination of skills – size, skating, plus the ability to contribute offense from the blue line �� don't come along too often, though Smith will have to continue to refine his game to keep making steps toward the NHL level."

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The Blue Jackets had targeted him, and were surprised he was still on the board as the 14th overall pick in the 1st Round. He will head to the Jackets development camp, then off to Penn State for NCAA hockey. It is likely we saw him play his last games in the WHL, but fans knew he was going places. He is the 15th American to go in the first round.

The other were (from 1988-89 til now):

1989 Goalie Olaf Kolzig-WA Capitals
1989 Stu Barnes-Center-Winnipeg Jets
1992 Jason Bowen-Left Wing-Philadelphia Flyers
1995 Brian Bouchet- Goalie-Philadelphia Flyers
1995 Terry Ryan-Left Wing-Montreal Canadiens
1995 Damon Langkow-Center-Tampa Bay
1996 Jaroslav Svejkovsky-Left Wing-WA Capitals
1996 Dan Focht-Defenseman-Phoenix Coyotes
1998 Scott Gomez -Center- New Jersey Devils
2003 Shawn Belle-Defenseman-St. Louis Blues
2005 Carey Price-Goalie-Montreal Canadiens
2008 Chet Pickard-Goalie-Nashville Predators
2017 Juuso Valimaki-Defenseman-Calgary Flames
2017 Michael Rasmussen-Center-Detroit Red Wings
2025 Jackson Smith-Defenseman-Columbus Blue Jackets

The teams who've drafted the most Americans are in a 3-way tie, between Montreal, Philadelphia and Washington with 2 each. Overall, 68 Americans have been drafted. The 1995 Americans saw the most go in the 1st round with 3. That same team had six players overall get picked in the overall draft, the most in franchise history.