If the Penguins use their first-round pick on defenseman Jackson Smith later this month, they won't exactly have to travel far to keep up with his progress over the course of the season. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-handed shot just announced on Sunday that he'll be taking his talents to Penn State next season.

Smith, 18, is taking advantage of the new rule that allows players who once played Canadian major junior hockey to now be eligible to play in the NCAA. He spent the last two full seasons with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL.

Smith making the move to Penn State had been rumored for some time, but he hadn't officially committed yet when he was at the NHL's scouting combine as of a little under two weeks ago. He said then in Buffalo that he had plans to make the trip out to Penn State for a visit as soon as the combine wrapped, a visit that evidently went well.

Smith describes himself as a "big defenseman who skates really well, has a lot of offensive upside," and he showed that in Tri-City. This past season he led his team's defensemen in scoring and ranked fourth overall in team scoring with 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 68 games, a leap from his previous season's total of 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 62 games.

The Elite Prospects Draft Guide writes that "Smith’s skating, combined with his handling skill and creativity, often lead to some truly incredible plays. He spins off the forecheck, takes the middle, and launches a cross-ice pass through the next layer for a chance. From the point, he steps in, fakes, explodes across, and walks inside for a chance. With seemingly endless creativity, he pulls pucks through defenders’ legs, cuts off the wall, and capitalizes on backdoor passing lanes as they open."

While Smith can bring a lot offensively, he also tries to be someone who can "play on the D side of the puck, an all-around defenseman." He played in all situations for Tri-City, running the Americans' power play and playing on the penalty-kill. He tries to model his game after players like Miro Heiskanen or Shea Theodore, for being well-rounded as defenseman as well as skating well for their size.

Smith is projected to go just inside the top-10 or in the early teens in the first round of the draft, which would be right in the Penguins' range at No. 11 overall.

The Penguins were one of the teams to have a formal interview with Smith at the combine, and he was one of the few players that Kyle Dubas, Wes Clark and Jason Spezza opted to see for an additional meeting afterward, taking him out for lunch in Buffalo to get to know him better. Smith told me that he felt the meeting was a "really good talk" between the two.

The Penguins' prospect pool remains pretty shallow at left-handed defense, with Owen Pickering being the only real high-end prospect of note, followed by a couple longer-term projects like Emil Pieniniemi, Isaac Belliveau, Daniel Laatsch and Kalle Kangas. If Smith were available at No. 11, he'd fill a real need within the Penguins' system.