Prospect Update: Konnor Smith

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks drafted defenseman Konnor Smith in the 4th round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 97th overall. This past season was Smith’s first professional season, and he played in both the AHL and ECHL.

Smith started the season with San Diego, and was either a healthy scratch or playing next to Roland McKeown. After playing in only five games, he was assigned to the ECHL in late November, but was back with the Gulls a month later for a couple of games. Smith then went back to the ECHL and returned to the AHL in late January. He was returned to the ECHL in mid-February, before returning to the AHL at the end of March for the rest of the season. Overall, Smith played in 13 games for the Gulls and recorded an assist. In the ECHL, Smith played in 38 games for the Tulsa Oilers and scored eight goals and nine points. His eight goals were tied for the team lead among Tulsa defensemen and his nine points were fifth.

I had three expectations for Smith last summer, but he met only one. First, I wanted him to spend most of the year in the AHL. It was great to see him recalled to San Diego so many times, but disappointing how much time he spent in the ECHL. Given how many defensemen the Gulls had, I expected him to get some ECHL time, I was just hoping for much less overall. Second, even though he’s more known for his physical play than offensive ability, I was hoping to see Smith put up a few points and score some goals. That didn’t happen in the AHL, but eight goals in the ECHL is pretty good, especially considering he played fewer than 40 ECHL games, so he passed this expectation. Finally, in the past, Smith has had the tendency to take bad penalties, and I wanted him to limit how many penalties he took. In his final year of juniors, Smith had 34 penalty minutes in 40 games. Between the AHL and ECHL this past season, he had 53 penalty minutes in 51 games, so he missed this one as well.

Smith will likely be splitting time between the AHL and ECHL again this coming season. Even with Tristan Luneau and Tyson Hinds both likely in the NHL, the Ducks have brought in a number of defensemen on two-way contracts to help fill out San Diego’s roster. The Gulls have also signed players to AHL-only deals as well.

In his second professional season, I have two expectations for Smith. First, for him to play in more than 13 AHL games and record more than one AHL point. Second, regardless of league, to record fewer penalty minutes per game than he did this past season.

Smith is still a number of years away from making it to the NHL. He first needs to show that he’s a consistent AHL player before he’s going to get real NHL consideration. If Smith can become an everyday AHL player over the next couple of years, he may have a chance at the NHL in the 2028-2029 season, but he’s going to need to improve his play significantly if he wants to be in Anaheim that soon.

Smith has two years remaining on his entry-level contract and he’ll be a restricted free agent when it ends. If he’s been able to establish himself in the AHL before it ends, he should be extended in a couple of years. However, if he spends most of the next two years in the ECHL, the Ducks will probably not qualify him and let him leave as a free agent.

The next prospect update will be on goaltender Calle Clang.

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August 24th, 2026