Born in Brentwood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, Smirnov Light III was raised in a hockey family and was born to be a Simulation Hockey League (SHL) player. Smirnov is a third generation prospect who was immediately trained by two generations of former SHL players. His grandfather, Smirnov Light Sr. was a two-way playmaking center who was drafted in the first round by the Toronto North Stars. Light Sr. ended up retiring early as a member of the Edmonton Blizzard after a brief stint with the Los Angeles Panthers. Light Sr. was seen as an elite player and a crucial member of the Blizzard's S13 championship team.

Following Light Sr.'s early retirement was Smirnov Light Jr. Light Jr. joined the SMJHL in S31, so it seemed like Light Sr. got bored quite early in retirement given how quickly his son came around. Light Jr. did not experience nearly as much success as his father as he struggled in his first two years in the SMJHL. It took Light Jr. two more seasons of the SMJHL to prepare for the SHL where he made his debut with the Los Angeles Panthers. Despite having a similar athletic profile to his father, Light Jr. struggled in the SHL until he played in Toronto towards the end of his career.

The Light family had a considerable hiatus from the SHL following Light Jr.'s career and had seemingly moved on to newer pastures. It was not until recently where Light III appeared on the radar of SMJHL scouts and marked the return of the family to the SHL system. Light III possesses a similar athletic profile to his father and grandfather. He is a tall and well built player, standing at six feet three and 214 pounds. Similar to his grandfather he is an extremely strong skater and utilizes his edges extremely efficiently. Capable of changing directions nearly on a dime, Light III uses his strong edgework primarily on the defensive end while tracking elite offensive opposition as well as using his edges when entering the zone and aiming to make sure his team maintains possession.



In addition to his strong skating capabilities, Light III is elite at winning face-offs, which is seemingly a strength that has been passed down in the family. The family has always produced analytically friendly centers who consistently maintain and gain possessions for their teams, a common theme in this draft profile. When he was being raised, Light III's family understood that a way to truly differentiate yourself in the SMJHL at the center position is to win face-offs. With many of the peers being quite new to professional hockey, the difference between an elite face-off taker and the average can be exploited to the highest degree at this level. Winning face-offs can aid SMJHL teams in keeping possession in the offensive zone, or help their team begin the breakout process in the defensive zone and alleviate pressure from their backline.

Light III's final strength that will be highlighted is his playmaking capability. Part of being such a large center, Light III loves to utilize his full frame to create minor advantageous in any zone. With a wingspan that is slightly longer than his height, Light III utilizes a long stick which allows him change the angles of his passes by a sizeable amount with small changes of how he grips his stick. Another component is that he uses his natural strength to gain minor separation from defenders to get passes off in tight situations. The above advantages based off of his size are aided by his natural ability to read plays. As a whole, it allows Light III to be an elite playmaker for his team and consistently places his teammates in strong situations.

While Light III has plenty of strengths, it is important to be balanced in this profile heading into the draft. Had he have been a perfect prospect he would have not needed to have entered the SMJHL draft. What he will need to work on in the SMJHL will be various components that will help him at both ends. Stick handling is a weakness at this moment which will eventually aid Light III in his playmaking capabilities. As listed above, the long wingspan and stick allows for a greater range and ability to switch the way that he can pass the puck, however that is still a work in process. Often times when making minor adjustments to his passes he can lose the puck. This is emphasized even further when he is in the defensive zone and coughs it up near the hashmarks. A turnover in the hashmarks can quickly turn into a scoring chance for the opponents which will immediately put his goalie in a rough position.



Another component that he will need to work on while in the SMJHL is his scoring ability. Due to having such a long stick for a forward, it can be a struggle to quickly deal with rebounds near the goalie in the offensive zone. Often finding it difficult to get the stick in a good position, he may miss out on rebounds that quickly bounce off the goalie and lose his team potential goals in that zone. In addition to that, snap shots are more difficult to execute on, which means fewer significant shots on goal. He will need to make a decision going forward whether using a stick similar to what defensemen use will be advantageous or hurt him as he works through the SHL system. If he is capable of mastering the longer stick for a forward, then Light III positions himself as an elite unique two-way center prospect.

As a whole, Smirnov Light III is a prospect with an extremely high ceiling that will begin to see his flashes in the SMJHL if he is to reach his potential. As a two-way center who looks to make his team better on both ends, he will need to continue to look at ways to differentiate his team with the minor things that he does on the ice. Looking to consistently maintain and win possession for his team will be the basis of his game. As an unselfish player who projects to be the member of a line that will do the dirty work he will need to continue to limit any and all mistakes that he makes in a game. There is a good future ahead of him given the mentors he has available to himself leading up not only to the SMJHL draft but also the SHL level. The family has seen some very significant achievements while in the SHL, however the success has not been for an extremely long time. Despite that, the family has been fairly reliable in the SMJHL level and it should be interesting to see where the latest member lands in the SMJHL draft on Friday.