Alberts
Smits
D · NYR · Limited · Very poor
- PAL
- 5
- WAR
- -0.2
- Value
- 23
- PTS
- 0
2026-27№ 226 / 267
Alberts Smits (New York Rangers) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Alberts Smits
#12D
New York Rangers
HEIGHT : 191 cm · WEIGHT : 94 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : December 1, 2007 · Valmiera, Latvia
Drafted : 2026 · NYR · round 1, pick #5
Contract : $1,075,000 · 2026-27 → 2028-29 · Entry-Level Contract · RFA · Signing bonus $102,500
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | New York Rangers | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| NHL totals | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
Alberts Smits: our analysis
2026-27 season: 17 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, -2 +/-, 14:29 TOI. WAR -0.2 (226th of 267) · PAL 5, very poor.
Alberts Smits is in his first season in the league. In 2026-27, He posts a PAL Rating of 5 out of 100 (very poor), and his WAR of -0.2 ranks 226th among 267 regulars, in the bottom quarter.
On the other hand, offense (2, among the weakest in the league) and discipline (12, among the weakest in the league) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), no component is positive; the costliest: finishing (-0.8).
Contract-wise, his Value score of 23 (very poor return) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Alberts Smits's story
Growing up in Valmiera, Šmits moved to Helsinki at 13 to chase stronger development opportunities, leaving his parents in Latvia. He began in the Baltu Vilki system back home and arrived in Finland to join Karhu-Kissat, initially living with an elderly woman near the club’s rink before settling into independent life while he pursued hockey.
He climbed the junior ladder quickly. Šmits featured across Karhu-Kissat’s U16, U18 and U19 teams, spent time on loan with HIFK and, in April 2024, earned a spot with Mikkelin Jukurit’s junior squad. As a teenager he posted notable scoring totals at U18 and U20 levels, which led to a promotion to Jukurit’s senior setup in spring 2025.
On the professional stage he continued to develop. Šmits skated in nine Liiga games after his promotion, recording two points, then established himself in 2025–26 with Jukurit (38 games, 6 goals, 7 assists). In February 2026 he went on loan to EHC Red Bull München in the DEL, collecting one assist in five regular-season appearances and adding 2 goals and 4 assists across 11 playoff contests. His overall trajectory earned him the E. J. McGuire Award of Excellence ahead of the draft.
At the 2026 NHL entry draft Šmits was chosen fifth overall by the New York Rangers. He signed a three-year entry-level contract on 15 July 2026 and after attending training camp made the Rangers’ opening-night roster on 28 September 2026. Internationally, he has represented Latvia at multiple levels: World U18s 2024 (3 points in 5 games), 2025 Deutschland Cup (1 assist in 3 games), World Juniors 2026 (1 goal, 4 assists in 5 games), the 2026 Winter Olympics (2 assists in 4 games) and the 2026 World Championship (4 assists before Latvia’s quarterfinal exit).
Listed as a defenceman, his scoring across junior and pro competitions shows an ability to contribute offensively while stepping into higher levels of competition season after season.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 14:29
- PP TOI/GP
- 0:02
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:12
- Pts/GP
- 0.00
- EV points
- 0
- Hits
- 17
- Blocks
- 10
- Takeaways
- 2
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 45.1 %
- Off. zone starts
- 30.9 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
Prospect value
Scout Report Center →Rank
18
among all 32 teams' prospects
Rating
99/ 100
percentile among prospects at his position
Potential
75/ 80
First line or top pair
Ceiling: 6.7 WAR from age 21 to 26
NHL probability
84 %
of playing 200 NHL games from age 21 to 26
Expected WAR, age 21-26
2.8
the most likely outcome
NHLe
11
NHL points over 82 games, from 2025-26 (Liiga, 43 games)
Player ratings, 2026-27
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
Injured reserve· Upper Body· expected back November 22
OV · OverallConfidence 18 %
61
Depth
- SK
- Skating
- 63
- Confidence 40 %
- ST
- Strength
- 81
- Confidence 22 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 48
- Confidence 0 %
- DU
- Durability
- 74
- Confidence 40 %
- CK
- Checking
- 80
- Confidence 22 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 78
- Confidence 9 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 61
- Confidence 22 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- —
- PA
- Passing
- 71
- Confidence 18 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 71
- Confidence 18 %
- DF
- Defense
- 70
- Confidence 16 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 76
- Confidence 0 %
- EX
- Experience
- 29
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating63
- Top speed (35 %)34.3 · 57
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)2.132 · 72
- Distance /60 (20 %)14.6 · 81
- Speed consistency (15 %)33.9 · 60
ST — Strength81
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)4.943 · 81
- Body mass (50 %)0.48 · 78
EN — Endurance48
- Ice time per game (45 %)19.9 · 57
- Total ice time (20 %)221 · 35
- Shift length (15 %)48.7 · 70
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)2.644 · 54
DU — Durability74
- Share of games played (100 %)0.906 · 74
CK — Checking80
- Hits /60 (70 %)2.82 · 80
- Season volume (10 %)2.708 · 75
FG — Fighting78
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.43 · 78
DI — Discipline61
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)-0.061 · 61
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.759 · 54
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.436 · 81
PA — Passing71
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.407 · 67
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.477 · 64
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.068 · 74
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)5.061 · 77
SC — Scoring71
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.247 · 64
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.265 · 73
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.386 · 71
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)0.188 · 80
- xG per shot (10 %)0.038 · 77
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)10.7 · 68
DF — Defense70
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.007 · 74
- Relative xG against (20 %)0.092 · 67
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.679 · 70
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)0.082 · 72
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-2.21 · 69
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)57.3 · 78
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)3.709 · 70
PS — Penalty shot76
- Shootouts (60 %)32.7 · 75
- Penalty shots (40 %)27.3 · 76
EX — Experience29
- Career regular-season games (65 %)41
- Career playoff games (25 %)0
- NHL seasons (10 %)24
OV — Overall61
- DF · Defense (30 %)70
- PA · Passing (22 %)71
- SK · Skating (12 %)63
- SC · Scoring (12 %)71
- EN · Endurance (9 %)48
- ST · Strength (6 %)81
- DI · Discipline (5 %)61
- CK · Checking (4 %)80
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2026-27 (season in progress)
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
-0.2
wins above replacement
226 of 267
PAL Rating
5/ 100
Performance · Very poor
157 of 171 at the position
Value Rating
23/ 100
Very poor return
1.08 M$ · expected PAL 17
ProfileLimitedBelow average at both ends
- Offense
- 12
- Defense
- 14
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 2
- Creation
- 24
- Shooting
- 36
- Possession
- 14
- Defense
- 26
- Discipline
- 12
- Power play
- 43
- Penalty kill
- 17
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
Hockey IQ, 2026-27
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
0/ 100
Low
better than 0% of defensemen, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
43/ 100
Average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
0/ 100
Low
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 42 of 42 defensemen.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 10
- Shot selection
- 55
- Penalties drawn
- 33
- Puck management
- 79
Defense
- Takeaways
- 14
- Discipline
- 2
- Safe zone exits
- 7
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
-0.2
wins above replacement
-0.4 to -0.1 — 90% interval
226 of 267 defensemen
-1.1 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- -0.0
- EV defense
- -0.1
- Power play
- 0.0
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- -0.8
- Penalties
- -0.6
- Average → replacement
- +0.4
In goals.
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 148.1 km/h72nd percentileleague avg. 140.2 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 32.9 km/h20th percentileleague avg. 34.1 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 221st percentileleague avg. 9
- Offensive zone time
- 41.5 %54th percentileleague avg. 41.2 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 57.8 km41st percentileleague avg. 61.8 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 4.07 km22nd percentileleague avg. 5.00 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 41.7 %44th percentileleague avg. 41.3 %
- Neutral zone time
- 18.4 %69th percentileleague avg. 19.0 %
- Defensive zone time
- 40.0 %56th percentileleague avg. 39.8 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 828th percentile | 046th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| High danger | 173rd percentile | 083rd percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Mid range | 362nd percentile | 072nd percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Long range | 219th percentile | 074th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
PHI
STL
EDM
LAK
OTT
TOR
ANA
CBJ
NJD
TBL
VAN
WSH
NYI
UTA
DET
BOSAlberts Smits: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Alberts Smits have in 2026-27?
Alberts Smits has 0 goals and 0 points (0 assists) in 17 games in 2026-27.
How old is Alberts Smits?
Alberts Smits is 18 years old: he was born on December 2, 2007.
How tall is Alberts Smits, and how much does he weigh?
Alberts Smits is 6'3" (191 cm) and weighs 207 lb (94 kg).
Where is Alberts Smits from?
Latvia: Alberts Smits was born in Valmiera, Latvia.
What team does Alberts Smits play for?
Alberts Smits plays for the New York Rangers in the NHL, at D, wearing number 12.
Is Alberts Smits injured?
Yes: Alberts Smits is on injured reserve (upper body). He is expected back around November 22.
How good is Alberts Smits?
Alberts Smits produced -0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026-27 (season in progress), 226th of 267 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 5 out of 100: very poor for his position.
How much does Alberts Smits make?
Alberts Smits earns $1.1M for the 2026-27 season. His Value Rating is 23 out of 100 (very poor return): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Alberts Smits's contract end?
Alberts Smits's contract runs through the 2028-29 season; he will then be a restricted free agent.
Is Alberts Smits overpaid?
Yes, his output falls short of what his salary should buy. His Value rating is 23 out of 100 (very poor return), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Alberts Smits a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 226th of 267 players at his position in the NHL in 2026-27. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
How has Alberts Smits played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Alberts Smits has 0 points (0 goals, 0 assists).
What are Alberts Smits's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Alberts Smits has 17 games, 0 goals, 0 assists and 0 points.
Where was Alberts Smits drafted?
Alberts Smits was drafted 5th overall (round 1) by New York Rangers in 2026.
Is Alberts Smits better at home or on the road?
No real difference: in 2026-27, he averages 0.00 points per game at home (0 in 10 games) and 0.00 on the road (0 in 7 games).
How does Alberts Smits perform in the playoffs?
Alberts Smits has not played in the NHL playoffs yet.
What is Alberts Smits's nationality?
Alberts Smits is Latvian. Internationally: Represented Latvia: 2024 World U18 Championship (3 points in 5 games), 2025 Deutschland Cup (called up November 2025, 3 games, 1 assist), 2026 World Junior Championship (1 goal, 4 assists in 5 games), 2026 Winter Olympics (2 assists in 4 games), 2026 World Championship (4 assists before elimination in quarterfinals).
What awards has Alberts Smits won?
E. J. McGuire Award of Excellence (2026).
Where did Alberts Smits play before turning pro?
Junior clubs and pre-pro path: Baltu Vilki (R. Laviņš Sports Studio) — played U17 in 2021; moved to Finland in fall 2021; Karhu-Kissat (U16 in 2021–22, U16/U18/U19 in 2022–23, U18/U20 in 2023–24); loan stints with HIFK (youth); tried out for and joined Mikkelin Jukurit in April 2024 (U18/U20 in 2024–25); promoted to Jukurit's senior team in spring 2025; loaned to Red Bull München (DEL) in February 2026.
See also: his New York Rangers teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)