(Photo: Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
In sports, the title of team captain is awarded to a player who is not only talented in their respective game but one who demonstrates maturity and acts as a role model in every facet of life.
That’s why Arizona State Hockey graduate forward Tyler Gratton, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree who appeared in 123 contests over four seasons at Penn State, was unanimously voted the 2023-24 team captain by his teammates only months after transferring to Tempe. While a new face being tasked with representing the Sun Devils might seem surprising, the overwhelming level of trust Gratton received from his teammates makes sense.
Oftentimes, players’ leadership qualities and experience are on display almost immediately upon joining a new team. This was the case for freshman center Kyle Smolen, a newcomer that head coach Greg Powers views as a candidate to lead ASU in the future, even after he just wrapped up his third and fourth collegiate games last weekend against Northern Michigan.
“He’s a curious kid. He wants to know, he wants to learn, he wants to get better every day,” Powers said following Tuesday’s practice. “He’s a kid that you look at right now, and you see him, as a head coach, as a future captain.”
So far in 2023-24, Smolen has played bottom six minutes in all four of ASU’s games and notched two points, tied with defenseman Anthony Dowd for the most points from a rookie. He headlines a freshman class that Powers was very high on, one he believes embodies the ‘hard to play against’ identity he’s instilled within the program. How quickly a freshman adjusts to the college game varies from player to player, but Smolen’s early impact was expected by his head coach simply because of his familiarity the two have with one another.
Even as a raw prospect in 2017, Smolen’s 200-foot game coupled with offensive upside and high hockey IQ stood out. When he saw the potential ASU Hockey had — despite the program coming off its second season in the NCAA with a 13-20-3 record — and began talking to Powers, Smolen was sold, and committed to the Sun Devils exactly two months after his 16th birthday.
“Everyone here, they care about winning,” Smolen said on Tuesday. “That’s the number one thing they care about in the success of this program. And once I heard that at a young age, that was kind of my mindset, I just wanted to win, I wanted to be able to contribute to a program.
“Right away, [Powers] took me under his wing and said,‘Hey, do you want to be a contributor? Do you want to be someone that wants to win? Well, we want you here. Let me show you why.’ And they did. They gave me the opportunity to see the place and what they’re all about, and quite honestly, the mentality here is right up my alley.”
Between his commitment to ASU and his arrival in Tempe this past summer, Smolen had ample opportunity to grow as a player and prepare for the fast-paced, highly-skilled game that is college hockey. The United States Hockey League (USHL)’s Fargo Force selected him in the 17th round of the 2019 Entry Draft, providing a chance to refine his skillset in the United States’ top junior developmental league.
As it turns out, the USHL was a perfect fit for Smolen, who spent the next four seasons in North Dakota. While it took some adjustment, Smolen eventually found his stride offensively, logging 64 combined points through his last two seasons in Fargo.
However, the most valuable takeaway from his time in juniors was his decision to completely buy into his coaches’ guidance, realizing they could help take his game to the next level.
“When I was younger, I was very impatient,” Smolen said. “I learned that I have to trust in everyone around me that they have a plan for me, and it’s gonna get done properly. And if I trust my development, things are gonna go well and eventually take you to where you want to go.”
This newfound trust in his coaches ultimately paid off, as Smolen developed a more complete game centered around winning puck battles and playing a physical brand of hockey, the type of style that compliments ASU’s ‘hard and heavy’ identity.
“[My coaches] said,‘you’re the type of player that has skill, and you’re going to be able to score if you get to the hard areas of the ice. The problem is you’ve gotta get to the hard areas of the ice.’ When I took that advice, I trusted it, I started doing it in my career, and it honestly started paying off as you saw in my last year of junior hockey. And now it’s starting to pay off at the collegiate level as well.”
During the Sun Devils’ opening series against then-No. 15 Merrimack, Smolen was flanked by Gratton and senior forward Dylan Jackson on the third line but didn’t record a point in a pair of contests. With the return of senior center Ty Jackson for the Northern Michigan series, he was bumped down to the fourth line, centering seniors Benji Eckerle and Ryan O’Reilly. And right off the bat, it seemed the trio had been playing together for years.
In two games against the Wildcats, ASU’s fourth line combined for six points — with Smolen accounting for two — and was extremely sound on the defensive end, prompting Powers to call the group his best line throughout the series. Despite possessing next-to-no prior NCAA game experience, the freshman looked like he belonged with the upperclassmen, showing flashes of his talent at times, too.
“He’s just ready,” Eckerle said. “It doesn’t stop, his motor is crazy. He just wants it really bad and he’s got an underrated skill aspect to him, so we can get to those dirty areas and use hard skill to make plays that push us forward, and like you saw, he supported. Those kinds of plays are huge.”
But his biggest moment of the weekend came with the score deadlocked at one halfway through the middle frame of game one last Friday.
Controlling play inside the offensive zone, senior forward Ryan O’Reilly held the puck along the boards below the goal line while Smolen battled for net-front positioning with Wildcats defenseman Colby Enns just outside the crease before the jousting match traveled behind the net. As the winger made his move to the net, Smolen glided to the weak side a step ahead of Enns.
Now alone in front of the net, Smolen had no problem catching O’Reilly’s cross-crease pass on his backhand and lighting the lamp on the first shot of his collegiate career.
Aside from representing a career milestone, what stood out about the goal was what the rookie did away from the puck. Even with a defender by his side, Smolen saw the play developing and put himself into the most opportune spot to score.
“Just get to the net,” Smolen said. “It’s kind of one thing that courses through my head, just be around the net, be hungry on the net because you got a lot of older guys that know how to get the puck to the hard areas of the ice, and [the puck] was just kind of laying there for me.”
Even though his transition to NCAA Hockey has appeared seamless, Smolen recognizes there is still much to learn. Playing on a line with two seniors provides him with two mentors, but the freshman never hesitates to pick any of his teammates’ brains.
“We have a lot of freshmen that are curious,” Smolen said. “I’m kind of always listening in the locker room when people are asking questions, and I’m a big questions guy myself. Anyone on this team that you ask will say I ask too many questions, but I’m always curious to know what I could be doing better.”
Smolen might have room to grow, but in just four games, his presence has already been impactful. His strong hockey acumen and gritty playing style makes him a natural fit for the Sun Devils’ bottom six. But given the impression he’s already made on Powers, it’s entirely possible he’ll find himself higher in the lineup as the season progresses.
“[Smolen is] another kid that can play anywhere in the lineup,” Powers said. “He’s happy to get dirty and be a defensive-minded guy, play that role and get pucks out, get pucks in, finish checks. He likes to be physical. But he’s got a really good skill set where if I need him to go up into a top-six role, he’s capable and he has the brain and the IQ to do it.
“He is a player that, as he develops, is going to be a really big piece for us for four years … He came in ready to go, ready to make an impact. And I trust him in every situation, I mean I had him out there Friday in a five-on-six [situation] at the end of the game, to seal a win. That’s how much I trust him.”
