Smith Is Finding His Way | BLOG

Since the Devils Nov. 20 game at Tampa, defenseman Ty Smith has been a healthy scratch. Following Saturday's practice Devils head coach Lindy Ruff went into why Smith was sitting over the last weeks games.
"Just the number of opportunities we were giving up. Some of his reads on plays, the odd-number situations, and some of his puck play. We know when he's playing well that he can help us win hockey games. He has to get back to that," Ruff said following practice. "I think it was good for him to sit and watch. Sometimes you don't think you should be there but when you look at some of the play, we know he has to be better to stay in the lineup.
"We think our defense is better, so on a whole everybody has to be better. It's a different level we believe we're at with our crew. That's the level that he has to get himself to."

Another factor for the defenseman's sophomore slump? Ruff said missing training camp due to injury.
"I also think that when you miss training camp, it takes such a long time to catch up, the amount of work that he has to put in," Ruff said. "It's hard when you miss all those workouts. There were a lot of demanding practices that you missed. I think sometimes you take a little bit of your puck play for granted."
Smith has the guidance of defenseman and alternate captain Damon Severson to help bounce back. The veteran talked to Smith and shared how he overcame a similar situation during his second NHL season.
"I chatted with him about it a little bit too. In my second year kind of the same thing. We were similar in the fact that we both had pretty solid first years, rookie campaigns," Severson said. "Confidence is a big thing, especially for a young player … for him I just chatted with him and said 'hey, you're a good player, it's not like all of the sudden you're a bad player overnight. It's just sometimes you go through little spurts where things don't go your way. You just have to work that much harder and bounce back.'"
Smith practiced with Severson Saturday, a potential sign that he will return to the lineup after spending some time learning from a different point of view.
"For him, confidence is a big thing … once he gets back in there I'm sure he's going to want to show his worth again and prove that he wants to be here."