BOSTON | Last season, the trio of Will Smith, Gabriel Perreault and Ryan Leonard pulled out all the stops with the US National Under-18 Development Program – there’s no other way to put it – and they haven’t looked back since arriving in the NCAA with the Boston College Eagles.
With 132 points in just 63 games, Perreault broke the program’s all-time record for most points in a season. His linemate Will Smith is now second in history with 127 points.
The three hockey players were all drafted in the first round of the last draft: Smith was selected fourth overall by the San Jose Sharks, Leonard was selected eighth overall by Washington, while Perreault had to wait a little longer than expected and was picked by the San Jose Sharks New York Rangers took 23rd place.
The inseparable three all chose to join Boston College this season and obviously they were brought back on the same page.
Result: Smith leads the Eagles with eight points in six games (four goals and four assists), while Perreault isn’t far behind with seven points and Leonard is five.
“They are performing extremely well,” admitted Eagles coach Greg Brown. The fact that they had such good chemistry meant they were able to make the transition quicker than most first-year players.
Motivated to surpass yourself
In Perreault’s case, he doesn’t hide that part of his motivation this season is that he was passed over 22 times before the Rangers finally targeted him with the 23rd overall pick last June. Many observers expected the record holder for most points in a season with the program to be announced sooner.
Getty Images via AFP
“I try not to think about it too much, but I certainly would have liked to have gone out sooner. It helps me develop every day and at the end of the day I’m happy to have ended up in New York, a special place,” he told us last week during an interview at the Conte Forum in Boston.
Apparently an interview entirely in French, because although he has been living in the United States for several years, “we still speak French at home.”
He is also in constant contact with his father Yanic, one of his most important mentors.
“He always tries to stay positive with me and that helps me a lot.”
Smith preferred the NCAA over the NHL
In the case of Will Smith, making the jump to the NHL was out of the question this season, even though he was a very good draft choice.
Will Smith Photo provided by Meg Kelly / Boston College
“I knew I wanted to play in the college ranks. It’s always been a dream of mine to play at Boston College and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. It’s special to play in front of 8,000 people, 4,000 of whom are students from your school.”
Looking ahead to the Sharks’ start to the season, we can bet that Smith has no regrets about his choice.