The captivating thing about Givani Smith is there is no one quite like him in the Detroit Red Wings organization.
Smith, the Wings' second-round pick, 46th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, is a power forward in every sense of the word.
When the Wings drafted him, Smith was already a strong young man at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, and a player that Red Line Report said was "so abrasive he would've grated on Mother Teresa."
Now 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, Smith is a tough player to move away from the net.
Smith's season got off to a slow start after he suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp.
After returning to the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm, Smith did not play in a game until Nov. 16.
On Jan. 7, the Storm traded Smith to the Kitchener Rangers, which turned into a good thing for Smith as it allowed him to play important games in a playoff run.
Smith enters this season with a chance to make the Wings out of training camp.
If that does not work out, he will begin his professional career with the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins.
19-- Smith played in 19 games for the Guelph Storm before he was traded to the Kitchener Rangers. That number is also the number of points (nine goals, 10 assists) that Smith scored in the regular season for the Rangers.
11 -- In those 19 games that Smith played for Guelph, Smith scored eight goals and three assists.
27 -- After the trade to Kitchener, Smith played in 27 regular-season games for the Rangers.
46 -- Limited by injury at the start of the season, Smith played in a total of 46 regular-season games between the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers. Smith played in 64 regular-season games for the Storm in 2016-17 and 65 in 2015-16.
18 -- Playing for the first time in the OHL playoffs since the 2014-15 season, Smith played in 18 playoff games for the Rangers. Smith caught fire in those games, scoring 18 points (11 goals, seven assists).
50 -- During back-to-back seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17, Smith led the OHL in penalty minutes with 146 and 139 penalty minutes, respectively. But in 46 games last season, Smith had just 50 total penalty minutes, 14 in 19 games with Guelph and 36 in 27 games with Kitchener.
206 -- When the Wings held their development camp at the end of June, there were only two players who weighed more than Smith's 206 pounds. Those players were forward Michael Rasmussen, who is 6-foot-6 and 221 pounds and goaltender Jesper Eliasson, who is 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.
Quotable: "Givani's a big, strong kid. We saw a little bit of what he can do two years ago in the spring when he came to Grand Rapids. Big, strong body. He's focused a little more on developing his offensive instincts and getting pucks off the wall and taking them to the scoring areas. He's a guy who's going to be relied on to bring a little bit of a physical presence and create space for his linemates, but at the same time we're expecting him to help contribute offensively. As a young guy coming into our league it's tough. There's high expectations from him on himself and then what the organization expects from him as well." - Ben Simon, Grand Rapids Griffins head coach
