Craig Smith will take in the NHL Entry Draft from afar, his head ready to deal with whatever comes out of the proceedings in Montreal Friday night and Saturday.

An incoming freshman for the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team, Smith is one of those enigmatic pro prospects. Some scouts see him going as high as the second round. Others don’t have the 6-foot-1, 189-pound power winger among their top 200 targets.

Smith, who attended Madison La Follette High School before spending three decorated seasons with Waterloo of the U.S. Hockey League, will monitor things from his hometown.

“If it doesn’t happen, it’s not going to be the end of the world,” Smith said of being drafted. “I’ll be a free agent.
“If I do (get chosen), it’s probably one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve had. A huge dream of mine would be accomplished, to be drafted in the NHL. I don’t know how many guys have gotten drafted out of the East Side, but it’s definitely a list I’d like to make.”

Smith would be the 14th Madisonian to be drafted by an NHL club and play for the Badgers. The rundown of East Side products in that sampling is small, but includes an iconic Olympian (defenseman Bob Suter led East to the state title in 1975) and the only man to be twice voted Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Frozen Four (goaltender Marc Behrend attended La Follette).

Smith is one of four players with UW ties ranked among the top prospects for the draft. The final Central Scouting Service assessment had Smith No. 177 among North American skaters. Incoming freshman defenseman John Ramage is 97th; center and 2010-11 recruit Tyler Lapic (New Prague, Minn.) is 114th and winger Jordy Murray, a sophomore-to-be with the Badgers, is 175th.

Defenseman Troy Hesketh (Minnetonka, Minn.) is a UW recruit for 2011-12 who doesn’t show up in the rankings, but a recent growth spurt has him on the radar screen of multiple NHL clubs.

Smith, who turns 20 in September, blossomed in his third season at Waterloo when he was a USHL first-team all-star and the second-leading scorer during the regular season (28 goals, 48 assists and plus-32 in 54 games).

In addition, Smith captained the American squad that won the gold medal in the World Junior A Challenge and was named to the all-tournament team.

“I haven’t maybe talked to everybody (in the NHL), but I haven’t heard any downside,” UW coach Mike Eaves said. “People might say they want to see more from him. But the strengths that he has, he does play to.”

Smith is a top-end skater who excels at driving the net. According to Eaves, he also “has the ability to see the ice and make some plays, which maybe surprises some people.”

Multiple scouts wondered about Smith’s consistency, which is curious because he felt that’s where he made his greatest strides during the 2008-09 season. Smith credited Waterloo coach P.K. O’Handley for helping him cultivate that development.

“Not only with points, but going out there on the defensive side and producing a hard-working, two-way game,” Smith said.
If you crave a local comparison, Smith has a game similar to that of Paul Ranheim, a first-team All-American for the Badgers in 1988 before playing 15 seasons in the NHL.

Eaves has 14 veteran forwards returning, but he said if Smith can replicate the game he showed last season, “he’s going to have a high percentage chance of getting into the lineup.”

Right now, all Smith wants is to have his NHL wish come true this weekend.

“I think it’s up in the air,” he said. “Anything can happen. But I hope I get picked up.”