Smith's strong start to college hockey continues in Columbus

For Jackson Smith, now it’s getting real.

He’s played six games of college hockey, all nonconference games for No. 4 Penn State. But the Big Ten schedule begins tonight, and it’s happening in quite the familiar place for the Blue Jackets first-round draft pick.

The Nittany Lions are in Columbus to take on No. 17 Ohio State, with games tonight (BTN) and tomorrow (BTN+) at Value City Arena, and Smith is ready for the challenge of playing in a conference in which six of the seven teams are ranked in this week’s USCHO.com poll.

“I’ve been super excited for this day,” Smith said this morning. “We played out of conference, but now you get to play against some Big Ten teams and see where you stack up. It’s going to be a good test today and tomorrow.”

Of course, it helps that Smith is on familiar territory for this weekend’s contests. He spent nearly a week in Columbus this summer after being chosen with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 draft, becoming familiar with the city along with his fellow CBJ prospects during the team’s annual development camp.

READ MORE: Smith's skating helped make him a CBJ draft pick

Blue Jackets brass will be sure to stop in and reconnect over the next two days, and a couple other familiar faces will be in attendance as well. His parents made the trip to Columbus for the games to see Jackson’s future home, and the Smiths had dinner in the Short North last night before doing some exploring.

“It’s pretty cool coming in, going downtown and recognizing a little bit of the place,” Smith said. “It was fun last night. My parents are in town and they wanted to come see Columbus. We got to walk around a little bit, so it was nice to come back here and see the place.”

The defenseman has stayed in touch with the Blue Jackets in the early days of the season, with his biggest point of contact being development coach Tommy Cross, who had a 12-year pro career as a defenseman.

Smith also said that he does his best to watch CBJ games despite his busy schedule and has enjoyed the team’s current streak of five wins in the last six games.

“Of course, I follow along for every game,” Smith said. “Huge win last night. I try to watch games as much as I can, especially during the week. I’ll turn it on in my dorm room and watch. It’s pretty fun to be drafted by a team and watch them play, and I hope to be there pretty soon.”

The talented Smith hasn’t had much trouble adjusting to the college level, at least from a production standpoint, as a freshman. There was talk the Calgary native might be a top-10 pick after posting 11 goals and 54 points a season ago with Tri-City of the Western Hockey League before taking advantage of the rule change that allows players who have previously skated in the CHL to be eligible for NCAA hockey.

After missing the Nittany Lions’ opening game with illness, Smith has totaled a goal and six assists for seven points in six games, including his first career goal and an assist on the overtime winner Oct. 17 vs. Long Island. At 6-foot-4, Smith brings prototypical size to the table for a defenseman, is an elite skater and has shown the ability to contribute to the offense thus far with a pair of two-point games.

“It’s been good,” he said of the transition to the NCAA game. “It definitely is a different league than the Dub. There’s a lot less time and space, and (you’re playing against) older, stronger guys. We play against some hard competition in the sense of they’ll get the puck deep and try to go and kill you. That’s been an adjustment, but it’s been good. I’ve really enjoyed it, and we have a great team here that’s been awesome, so it just keeps getting better every game.”

Smith also said he’s taken well to college life, including having the chance to attend football games at Penn State and play home games in front of loud, packed houses at Hockey Valley's Pegula Ice Arena. A class in Penn State’s Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management that he’s taking with a few teammates stands out, but the biggest adjustment is a familiar one to anyone who has headed off to college for the first time.

“It’s a lot more independence, which is nice," Smith said. "It feels like you’re almost totally grown up now. You don’t have billet parents or your parents, so you have to learn a lot of stuff on your own. That’s been an adjustment, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot. The group of guys here has been great bringing me in and bringing all the freshmen in and being super welcoming to us, and it’s definitely helped a lot in the transition, making us feel comfortable here."