NHL Draft notebook: Smits looking to make impact for Latvia at Olympics

The 2026 NHL Draft will be held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 26-27. NHL.com will take a closer look at some of the draft-eligible players to watch. This week, a profile on defenseman Alberts Smits of Jukurit in Liiga, Finland's top professional men's league. Smits will play for Latvia at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Alberts Smits is currently the only player representing his country at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortino 2026 eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.

It's quite an accomplishment for the 18-year-old, who will play for Team Latvia.

The defenseman is No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters for the 2026 draft. Smits (6-foot-3, 205 pounds), who plays for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland's top professional men's league, could be the highest-selected Latvian player in NHL draft history.

"My biggest strength, especially in the junior level, might be my size," Smits said. "I think that I could play close to the boards pretty well. My shot is pretty good too, but I'm going to let the fans and people that watch my game judge me."

The reviews have been excellent.

Smits has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) and averages 19:58 of ice time in 33 games with Jukurit this season. He had five points (one goal, four assists) and averaged a team-high 23:40 in ice time for seventh-place Latvia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Latvia lost 6-3 to eventual gold-medalist Sweden in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. It was the third straight tournament Latvia reached the quarterfinals after only accomplishing that once before in its previous eight appearances at the top level of the World Juniors.

"It just shows that we're getting better year by year and getting closer to the next step," Smits said after the loss to Sweden. "The World Juniors was kind of a new experience for me, but the Olympics ... that's a whole different level. Olympics is going to be a new challenge, and I know I have to be ready for it."

Artis Abols, Latvia's World Juniors coach, felt Smits was the team's best player during the tournament.

"He's able to play at the pro level, he's able to take the big minutes every game," Abols said. "He's a good skater, has good skills and a good shot. Off the ice, we need a leader and he's a man. He's not a kid. He's a man."

Smits certainly played to the media wonderfully too.

When asked if he felt it would be good going head-to-head against fellow 2026 draft prospects forward Gavin McKenna and defenseman Carson Carels of Canada to measure himself, Smits smiled and said, "I have played against bigger guys, so I don't think about what guys I'm going to play against. I'm just going to do my thing out there."

McKenna, a left wing at Penn State University, is No. 1 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters. Carels, who plays for Prince George in the Western Hockey League, is No. 3 on the North American list.

"I love the fact that he's bold," said TSN director of scouting and former NHL general manager Craig Button. "I don't think there's anything to not like about somebody that's confident in himself, that's going to say, 'Hey, I'm not intimidated. I'm here. I played against big players.'

"He's played in Liiga and that's a hard league."

Smits, who served as an assistant captain for Latvia, had three shots on goal, a plus-1 rating and played a game-high 24:37 in Latvia's 2-1 overtime loss to Canada in a preliminary-round game Dec. 27.

Abols said Smits' game should translate well to the NHL.

"The Latvia journalists asked me before the [WJC] tournament, what will be more important for him, playing the World Juniors or going to the Olympics?" he said. "I told them World Juniors is important because everyone will compare him to the same aged players, especially Canadians. They need to see how he looks. At the Olympics, everyone might see how close he is to the NHL because he will play against the real NHL players, against the men.

"Alberts wants to be pro. He prepares everything like that. You don't need to watch and remind him ... he wants to be a pro. You can see that right away.”

Smits will play alongside forward Zemgus Girgensons at the Olympics. Girgensons, who plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, became the highest-drafted Latvia-born player when the Buffalo Sabres selected him with the No. 14 pick of the 2012 NHL Draft.

Smits said he models his game after Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.

"I'm just trying to be a two-way defenseman that joins the rush," he said.

He doesn't bother thinking about the NHL draft at this point in the season and instead would rather concentrate on the next game on his schedule.

"You never know how the draft is going to go so I'm not focusing on it; I'm just focusing on things I'm doing now and for the next step in this season," he said. "I want to continue to improve in Liiga and play good in the Olympics. I'm going to focus on that."

PROSPECTS ON THE RADAR (listed alphabetically)

Wyatt Cullen, LW, USA U-18 (NTDP-USHL): The 17-year-old son of former NHL center Matt Cullen opened some eyes with a strong effort for Team NTDP at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win against Team CHL at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Nov. 26. He then had two goals and an assist and was named player of the game at the 2026 Chipotle All American Game at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, on Jan. 15. Cullen (5-foot-11, 174 pounds), who will attend the University of Minnesota starting in 2027-28, is No. 23 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters. He recently returned from injury and has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 15 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team this season.

Adam Novotny, LW, Peterborough (OHL): Novotny (6-1, 204) hasn't skipped a beat after getting three assists and averaging 17:44 of ice time for silver medal-winning Czechia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. The 18-year-old is second on Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League with 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists) in 34 games. He also has 14 power-play points (seven goals, seven assists) and one short-handed goal. Listed No. 12 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, Novotny has five points (two goals, three assists) in five games since returning to the lineup from World Juniors.

Blake Zielinski, C, Des Moines (USHL): Zielinski (5-11, 188), who participated in the 2026 Chipotle All American Game in Michigan on Jan. 15, is second on Des Moines with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 28 games. The native of Berlin, New Jersey, who is No. 56 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, has nine power-play points (three goals, six assists) and 81 shots on goal for the Buccaneers. He's committed to play at Providence College next season.