Even if he didn’t play for the Detroit Red Wings, Alex DeBrincat would be one of my favorite players. Heck, you could even call him my favorite, considering his small size. DeBrincat, roughly 5’8 and 180 lbs, plays bigger than his size and punishes opponents who underestimate him.
And that’s what makes smaller prospects so intriguing, besides the possibility they can be the next lethal offensive weapon that DeBrincat’s been for the Red Wings. Oh, and in case you don’t know him yet, I’m talking about right-winger Cameron Schmidt.
He’s a lethal scorer, like DeBrincat, putting up 40 goals last season for the Vancouver Giants and 78 points in 61 games. And this all came after a season that saw him score 31 times and put up 58 points in 59 games through what was his first full season in the WHL.
You have to ask, if he were a few inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, would he be projected to go higher than 31st overall to the Calgary Flames, per Tankathon’s mock draft as I write this?
Cameron Schmidt can be the steal of the first round if drafted high
Players like Schmidt are some of my favorites because you know some teams will write them off because of their size. As for Schmidt, he’s 5’7 and 157 lbs. And you’d think, because he’s so small, that he’s just a speed skater who can create breakaways and take advantage of odd-man rushes, right?
This makes Schmidt even more deceptive, because he’s a ghost on the ice, the way he can sneak into a circle or even between three opponents unnoticed. Oh, and a word of warning to opposing goaltenders: If you happen to see Schmidt hanging out nearby, you might wanna freeze the puck, because he’s got a knack for scoring on rebounds.
This isn’t to say that Schmidt won’t take advantage of potential breakaways, especially when there’s a loose puck nearby. And you also wouldn’t think he’d pull off his best impression of Tage Thompson, of all people, but there were a few highlights in the reel linked to Tankathon that saw Schmidt doing just that.
For someone only five feet, seven inches tall, his reach is incredible. All of this makes Schmidt a dangerous player whose lack of size shouldn’t be relevant, given the way he plays.
Where would Cameron Schmidt fit on the Detroit Red Wings?
He’s one of those players who I can see fooling us and taking a more unconventional route to the NHL, whether he’s on the Red Wings or playing elsewhere. I’m not saying he’s surprising us all and making the big club out of juniors this year or next; that’d be shortsighted.
But if Schmidt fought his way into an NHL lineup starting in 2027-28, it wouldn’t surprise me. And it wouldn’t matter if the Wings are serious contenders at that point or still hanging around as a fringe contender. As I said earlier, he’s got Alex DeBrincat written all over him, and I’m expecting him to enjoy a very DeBrincat-like career.
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