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  Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 215
Birth Date: 1-23-70
Place of Birth: Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Jersey Number: 24
Compensation: $1,200,000


The Finesse Game
Smehlik's skating is his strong suit, and it has taken him time since missing the entire 1995-96 season with major knee surgery to regain his physical form and confidence. He is an agile skater with good lateral movement and very solid on his skates. Because his balance is so good, he is tough to knock down. If Smehlik is given more responsibility offensively, he will respond. He has good passing skills and fair hockey vision, and he can spot and hit the breaking forward. Most of his assists will be traced back to a headman feed out of the defensive zone. He plays well at the point and has a rocket shot, but isn't clever enough with the puck to be a really effective member of the power play. Smehlik is vulnerable to a strong forecheck. Teams are aware of this deficiency and try to work his corner.

The Physical Game
Smehlik can use his body well but has to be more consistent and authoritative. He has to clean up his crease better but he's not a mean hitter. He prefers to use his stick to break up plays, and he does that effectively. He has a long reach and is able to intercept passes, or reach in around a defender to pry the puck loose. He gets a lot of minutes playing with Alexei Zhitnik against top lines and needs to keep up his conditioning.

The Intangibles
Smehlik would have a hard time being a top four defenseman on a stronger team. He did get a mental boost from winning a gold medal with the Czech Republic and had a nice finish to his season, but he is overmatched as a top defenseman.

Projection
Smehlik has some decent skills, but his probable level is the 25- to 30-point range. He will continue to get a lot of ice time.


Season Team/League GP G A TP PIM +/- PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
1988-89 VITK/CZECH 38 2 5 7 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1989-90 VITK/Czech. 51 5 4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1990-91 DUKL/Czech. 58 4 3 7 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1991-92 VITK/CZECH 47 9 10 19 42 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1992-93 BUFF/NHL 80 4 27 31 59 9 0 0 0 0 82 4.88
1993-94 BUFF/NHL 84 14 27 41 69 22 3 3 1 1 106 13.21
1994-95 BUFF/NHL 39 4 7 11 46 5 0 1 1 0 49 8.16
1994-95 VITK/CZECH. 13 5 2 7 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1996-97 BUFF/NHL 62 11 19 30 43 19 2 0 1 0 100 11.00
1997-98 BUFF/NHL 72 3 17 20 62 11 0 1 0 0 90 3.33
1997-98 CZEC/OLYM 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1998-99 BUFF/NHL 72 3 11 14 44 -9 0 0 0 0 61 4.92
NHL TOT 409 39 108 147 323 57 5 5 3 1 488