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Ice Lab

Right wing · #22

Cole Smith

Nashville Predators Vegas Golden Knights Chicago Blackhawks(traded during the season)
Age
30
Shoots
Left
Height
191 cm
Weight
88 kg
Born
Brainerd, USA
Draft
Undrafted

Career · 2020–21 to 2026–27

Games
271
Goals
23
Points
62
TOI per game
13:19
xGF% (5v5)
48.6%
Goals above expected
−18.5
ShowAll teamsNashville PredatorsVegas Golden KnightsChicago Blackhawks

Season by season

The regular-season line for each season, with the total, by team for traded players.

2020–21NSH100005:5710.0%00.138.0%
2021–22NSH8000−38:5030.0%00.341.7%
2022–23NSH6941317−312:45646.3%09.248.7%
2023–24NSH8091423+513:411128.0%015.050.6%
2024–25NSH714812−1513:36695.8%08.347.1%
2025–26NSH426410−714:075111.8%08.548.0%
2025–26VGK21202011:381811.1%02.754.7%
2025–26All teams638412−713:176911.6%011.249.7%
2026–27CHI6101+114:52616.7%01.440.0%
Total3 teams298263965−2213:143248.0%045.648.7%

Form

Rolling averages smooth out single games so the trend shows.

Form, ten-game rolling

Points and individual expected goals per game (left scale), averaged over the previous ten games. Ice time is on the second chart.

Points per gameixG per gameTOI per game (minutes)
00.20.40.60.850100150200250
8m10m12m14m16m50100150200250Game

Player card

Model-based

How 2020–21 to 2026–27 compares with everyone else at the position over the same seasons, and the players with the most similar profile.

Overall rating

4th line

23rd percentile among qualified forwards, blending scoring 40%, play-driving 40%, usage 20%.

  1. 1st line
  2. 2nd line
  3. 3rd line
  4. 4th line
  5. Extra / AHL

Scoring

Extra / AHL
  • Goals /600.4016th pct
  • Assists /600.5919th pct
  • ixG /600.6942nd pct
  • Goals above expected−19.62nd pct

Play-driving

3rd line
  • xGF% (5v5)48.7%49th pct
  • CF% (5v5)49.0%53rd pct
  • Relative xGF%−2.235th pct
  • Penalty diff /60-0.0533rd pct

Usage

3rd line
  • TOI per game13:1447th pct
  • PP time share0.8%4th pct
  • Offensive zone starts20.2%2nd pct
  • Quality of competition24.5%65th pct

Percentiles among forwards with 200+ minutes at 5-on-5 and 20+ games. Ratings rank each column's average percentile among the same players and read it as a role on a depth chart (how).

Most similar players this season

  1. Brandon DuhaimeMIN/COL/WSH0.96
  2. Zachary Aston-ReeseTOR/CBJ0.93
  3. Yakov TreninNSH/COL/MIN0.90
  4. Zachary L'HeureuxNSH0.87
  5. Parker KellyOTT/COL0.85
  6. Connor DewarMIN/TOR/PIT0.84

Faceoffs

How often Smith wins the draw over 2020–21 to 2026–27, against whom and where, and what a win leads to. Ranked among players with 1176+ draws over the same seasons.

Win rate

31.7%

20–43 · below the 1176 draws of a regular

Against an average centre

31.8%

Opponents won 50.1% of their draws; an average centre would have won 49.9% against them.

Wins above average

−11

Draws won beyond what an average centre facing the same opponents would have won.

Draws per game

1.2

63 draws in all.

By dot, attacking to the right

33%6 · 0.033%12 · −1.722%9 · −1.80%2 · –0%2 · –25%8 · +2.250%2 · 0.042%12 · +2.040%10 · +2.2Attacking zone →← Defending zone

Win rate at each dot; the small numbers are draws and the xG swing (×100) of winning rather than losing there.

By zone

  • Offensive zone28.6% 6–15
  • Neutral zone25.0% 5–15
  • Defensive zone40.9% 9–13

By strength

  • Even strength33.3% 17–34
  • Shorthanded25.0% 3–9

What a win leads to

Shot attempts in the next 20 seconds, for minus against, per 100 draws: +5 after a win, −16 after a loss. Each win was worth 0.3 expected goals per 100 draws more than a loss.

Most-faced opponents

Season by season

SeasonDrawsWin rateAgainst average
2021–2210.0%4.8%
2022–2350.0%-0.6%
2023–241729.4%29.6%
2024–251752.9%52.5%
2025–262030.0%30.3%
2026–2730.0%0.0%

Finishing

Model-based

Did the goals match the chances?

Goals against expected goals

Cumulative goals (solid) and individual xG (dashed) through the season. The gap is finishing: above the dashed line, the player scored more than an average shooter would from the same chances.

−18.5 goals above expected

01020304050100150200250Game

Goals above expected, everyone at the same position with 20+ games

−60−40−200+20+40+60+80+100

Speed and tracking

From the NHL's EDGE tracking system (2021–22 on): skating speed, shot speed, distance and zone time, for the selected seasons and then every tracked season, to show improvement or decline.

Tracking data (NHL EDGE)

Values from the NHL's puck and player tracking, with the NHL's own league percentile for each. Missing values mean the player wasn't tracked enough.

Tracking

  • Top skating speed35.0 km/h73rd pct
  • Speed bursts over 20 mph669th pct
  • Hardest shot111.7 km/h24th pct
  • Distance skated15 km73rd pct
  • Offensive-zone time34.9%5th pct
Tracking, season by season

Each season against the other forwards that season with 20+ games. A season in progress appears once half its games are played, as provisional: season bests only grow. Bursts and distance are per 60 minutes of ice time, so seasons with fewer games still compare. Percentiles are on these rates, so they can differ from the NHL's, which are on season totals.

This playerMedian forwardMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)Hollow dot: too few games to rank, or a season in progress (*, dashed). Dotted line: no NHL games that season.

Top skating speed

37.8 km/h93rd pct

▲ +1.5 km/h since 2024–25

34353637383921–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 35.5 km/h, 31st percentile (8 games, too few to rank reliably)2022–23: 37.1 km/h, 87th percentile (69 games)2023–24: 36.8 km/h, 79th percentile (80 games)2024–25: 36.3 km/h, 55th percentile (71 games)2025–26: 37.8 km/h, 93rd percentile (63 games)

Bursts over 20 mph per 60

8.278th pct

▲ +1.0 since 2024–25

24681021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 8.5, 78th percentile (8 games, too few to rank reliably)2022–23: 7.0, 69th percentile (69 games)2023–24: 8.8, 83rd percentile (80 games)2024–25: 7.2, 67th percentile (71 games)2025–26: 8.2, 78th percentile (63 games)

Distance skated per 60

15.1 km25th pct

▼ −0.0 km since 2024–25

1414.51515.51616.521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 15.9 km, 70th percentile (8 games, too few to rank reliably)2022–23: 14.6 km, 14th percentile (69 games)2023–24: 15.5 km, 50th percentile (80 games)2024–25: 15.1 km, 21st percentile (71 games)2025–26: 15.1 km, 25th percentile (63 games)

Hardest shot

127.6 km/h6th pct

▼ −10.4 km/h since 2024–25

10012014016021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 110.9 km/h, 0th percentile (8 games, too few to rank reliably)2022–23: 153.3 km/h, 91st percentile (69 games)2023–24: 137.6 km/h, 28th percentile (80 games)2024–25: 138.0 km/h, 38th percentile (71 games)2025–26: 127.6 km/h, 6th percentile (63 games)

Offensive-zone time

42.3%57th pct

▲ +1.3 points since 2024–25

38%40%42%44%46%21–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 42.2%, 57th percentile (8 games, too few to rank reliably)2022–23: 39.9%, 23rd percentile (69 games)2023–24: 40.9%, 38th percentile (80 games)2024–25: 41.0%, 36th percentile (71 games)2025–26: 42.3%, 57th percentile (63 games)