Smits' 2026 NHL Draft stock on rise after playing for Latvia in Olympics, Worlds

The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The first round will be June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 on June 27 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Alberts Smits from Munchen in DEL, the top league in Germany. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Alberts Smits gave NHL scouts one thing most other prospects in the 2026 draft class couldn't -- proof of concept.

The 18-year-old defenseman showed how he could handle playing with and against top-level NHL competition with Team Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics and at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Smits had two assists in four games at the Olympics, including an assist on the game-winning goal in Latvia's only victory at the Games, 4-3 against Germany during the preliminary round. His average ice time of 18:44 was third among Latvia defensemen, behind Uvis Balinskis, a Stanley Cup champion in 2025 with the Florida Panthers, and Kristians Rubins, a 28-year-old veteran who plays professionally in Europe.

"Now when I'm looking back at it, a little bit of a crazy experience, but at the time it didn't feel like it," Smits said. "Just another place I go do my job."

Smits did his job well everywhere he played this season, combining a high-level skill set with NHL-ready size (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) and maturity. He had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 38 games with Jukurit in Liiga, the top league in Finland. He was third on the team with an average ice time of 20:14 per game.

He also had one assist in five regular-season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in 11 playoff games with Munchen in DEL, the top league in Germany, after being loaned there Feb. 25.

He's No. 2 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters.

"He combines size, mobility, and poise far beyond his years," NHL Director of European Scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen said. "He has logged over 20 minutes of ice time regularly, with dominant performances that showcase confidence and control throughout. A strong skater with excellent balance and surprising acceleration, he transitions smoothly from defense to offense, often leading the rush himself. His hockey IQ is exceptional, as evidenced by his ability to read plays, make intelligent first passes, and position himself effectively in both zones."

Smits also was good for Latvia at the World Championship, with four assists in eight games, and his 21:47 average ice time led Latvia defensemen.

Latvia lost 2-0 to Norway in the quarterfinals, but its sixth-place finish was its second-best ever, after its bronze medal win in 2023.

"The team did great," Smits said. "We made the quarterfinals, it was only the sixth time in history. ... And for me personally, it was a great experience. Another big event, a good level of hockey. You can just pick up some good things you can carry on with in your career."

Where Smits has gone in his career already is impressive. He was 13 years old when he left his native Latvia to join the Karhu-Kissat program in Helsinki, Finland.

The move gave Smits something he had thought about for some time -- the opportunity to live on his own.

"That's the kind of thing that I wanted to always do, become independent as fast as possible," he said. "So as soon as I got the chance at 13, that's the chance I wanted to get, and I got it."

Smits had to sell the idea to his parents that he could handle living on his own barely into his teen years. For them to get to Alberts if he needed them, they would have to drive three hours north from the family home in Valmiera, Latvia, through Estonia, and then take a three-hour ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn, Estonia to Helsinki.

"At first they were a little bit shocked and questioning a lot of things, should I do it, am I ready for it?" he said. "But at the same time, that was my only option if I wanted to play hockey. We kind of decided that I'm going to give it a shot, and if I'm not going to like it, I'm always welcome back home. I gave it a shot, and it worked out pretty OK.

"It took me a little bit of time to get used to the things you have to do (on) your own, but then it turned out that it's not that hard. If you just have to do it, you just do it."

Things worked well for Smits, who moved to Jukurit last season and had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 21 games in Finland's under-18 league and made his Liiga debut with two points (one goal, one assist) in nine games.

This season he had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 28 games with Jukurit when he joined Latvia for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Playing against his peer group, Smits was second for Latvia with five points (one goal, four assists) while averaging a team-best 23:40 of ice time in five games.

Latvia coach Artis Abols said at the time that he felt Smits was ready to play in the Olympics and could make the jump to the NHL as soon as next season.

"He has good size, he's a good skater. Is this (Matthew) Schaefer, what he's doing in the NHL?" Abols said. "I think physically he's ready. Depends which team will take him, what kind of situation there is for the player. But if you take the huge talent and he is ready to play, and if they take him high, probably they give him the chance right away."

Smits got a chance to see for himself how close he is at the Olympics, where six of his Latvia teammates played in the NHL.

"Especially when you get in the same team with the NHL guys, you see how professional they are, how they treat their bodies before and after the games," Smits said. "Those are the little things you have to pick up from events like this if you want to become better and more effective as a player and take the next step closer to the NHL."

The next step for Smits will involve spending part of the offseason working out at renowned trainer Ben Prentiss' facility in Connecticut.

He is signed with Jukurit through the 2027-28 season but he certainly has eyes on reaching the NHL as soon as he can. 

"That would be my goal, to get there as fast as possible, but I don't want to rush things at the same time so it doesn't backfire at me," he said. "So I will get there when I'm going to be ready."