The 6-foot-1 defenseman was heavily conveyed by Ducks scout Glen Cochrane, who passed away earlier this year.

After taking Stian Solberg with the 23rd overall pick, the Ducks continued to add to their blue line pipeline by taking Tarin Smith with the 79th overall pick.

Smith has plenty of skill and has shown many times that he’s capable of using it at the blue line to get around defenders or create opportunities for his teammates. He uses a lot of feints to open up shooting and passing lanes for both himself and teammates alike.

“I’m a two-way defenseman who can contribute all over the ice,” Smith said. “I can kill penalties and be on the power play.”

Smith comes into the Ducks organization knowing a familiar face as well. Playing for the Everett Silvertips in the WHL for parts of the last three seasons, Smith spent time alongside current Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger.

“I know Ziggy pretty well. I was around him for a little over a year. He taught me a lot in junior hockey. Learning from a guy like that who’s an unbelievable hockey player is pretty cool, so I’m excited to get to work with him (again).”

One person who championed hard for Smith was Ducks scout Glen Cochrane, whose main focus was the WHL, USHL and Minnesota high school hockey. Cochrane passed away in January after a battle with cancer.

“I don’t think he missed one WHL game played from September till January,” Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden said. “He was a big part of our midseason meeting and he had strong opinions on a number of players in this draft class. 

We lost him, but those opinions and his spirit stayed with us throughout the process into today. One of the kids that he loved, that he had passionate for, that he truly believed in was Tarin Smith. It was nice that in the right spot, for him, we were able to honor Glen by making that pick.”