Penn State hockey defenseman Jackson Smith knew his first four games didn’t meet his expectations.

In those four games, Smith had three assists, no goals, and six penalty minutes. While not Smith’s fault, the Nittany Lions also started the season 0-4.

“I think the first four games for me just weren’t how I see myself,” Smith said at Tuesday’s media availability. “But you know, it’s part of the journey, part of the adversity.”

Smith’s four-point weekend was exactly what he needed to regain his confidence and help the team get its first two victories of the season. Smith had two goals and two assists as the Nittany Lions swept Canisius at home.

He scored a career-high three points in Friday’s 5-1 win, then scored a goal 15 seconds into overtime on Saturday to lead a 3-2 victory. On Tuesday, the Big Ten named him its Third Star of the Week, his first weekly conference honor as a Nittany Lion.

The sweep brought back the version of Smith who set a program’s single-season record for goals by a defenseman as a freshman.

His approach was simple: “Play simple, keep the puck, keep jumping the play, play hard.”

After the loss to Robert Morris dropped the team to 0-4, head coach Guy Gadowsky said the Nittany Lions are a much better team when Smith plays his best. The following weekend, he proved his coach right, scoring two goals, including a game-winner.

Gadowsky wants Smith to lean on his skating, which he says is what makes him special.

“When he is playing with his feet and not just his hands, he’s extremely difficult to stop,” Gadowsky said.

His skating helped make Smith a first-round pick.

The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Smith No. 14 in 2025, making him the first Nittany Lion selected in the first round of the NHL draft.

After the pick, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said some of the team’s scouts had rated Smith’s skating a 10, which he called rare. Smith showed that skating again on Saturday.

Goaltender Ryder Fetterolf made two saves early in overtime, and the rebound started to rush the other way. Justin Poirier hit Smith with a pass in stride, and the 6-foot-4 defenseman pulled away and beat Canisius goaltender Jack Lisson glove side with a wrist shot.

Fetterolf, who sees Smith’s shot every day in practice, said he’s glad he doesn’t have to face it in games.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t like it,” Fetterolf said. “I mean, he’s a big guy, which means his stick length is gonna be pretty long. He’s gonna be able to drag it around and obviously change the angle a lot. I think he’s got a great shot.”

Gadowsky said the challenge for a player with Smith’s physical gifts is using them in a controlled way.

Caeden Herrington, a defenseman who transferred from Vermont, has spent the first month of the season learning Penn State hockey next to Smith.

Herrington called Smith “one of the best in college hockey” offensively. He said Smith has been “fun to watch and fun to play with.”

Smith also credited the fans who kept showing up during the 0-4 start. He said the student section stayed behind the team the whole way, and that the “community here at Penn State is a very tight community, so it’s always good to see them show up for us.”

The schedule will only get harder now that Penn State opens Big Ten play against Minnesota, coming off a sweep of North Dakota.

Gadowsky said he expects to see more consistency in Smith’s skating.

“Jackson Smith is an awesome hockey player,” he added. “We need him to be awesome for us to win.”