William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Jalen Smereck, a former defenseman in the Arizona Coyotes organization who is playing for 3ICE Tennessee in the professional 3-on-3 tournament at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale through Aug. 14.

Being a defenseman in the high-scoring, fast-paced 3ICE tournament is a seemingly impossible job, but Jalen Smereck doesn’t mind.

“When you can play hockey in South Florida in July and August, there’s not much to complain about,” the 28-year-old Detroit native said.

Smereck, who played for Toledo of the ECHL last season, is thriving as the lone defenseman on the roster for Tennessee in the eight-team, 3-on-3 professional tournament that began July 17 and concludes Aug. 14 with the Patrick Cup Championship at Baptist Health IcePlex, the Florida Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Smereck has four points (one goal, three assists) in four games for 3ICE Tennessee. Coach John LeClair said he leans on Smereck for his defensive prowess as much as his scoring touch in games where action is nearly nonstop with games consisting of two eight-minute halves and a running clock.

The teams are coached by NHL legends: LeClair; Ray Bourque, 3ICE Boston; Guy Carbonneau, 3ICE Dallas; Ken Daneyko, 3ICE New York/New Jersey; Grant Fuhr, 3ICE Chicago; Joe Mullen, 3ICE Pittsburgh; Larry Murphy, 3ICE Minnesota; and Pierre Turgeon, 3ICE Buffalo.

“Three-on-three games are a little different than the 5-on-5 game, and I was really impressed about how quicky he figured it out,” said LeClair, who won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, scored at least 50 goals for three consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers (1995-98) and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

“It’s hard to shut people down in 3ICE, obviously, it’s more of an offensive league,” LeClair said. “But having somebody back, making it a little more difficult on the 2-on-1 … it’s a lot easier playing a 2-on-1 against a forward than a ‘D’ who is comfortable back there.

“But the biggest thing with Jalen is that he knows how to transition to offense right away. When a forward gets it, they’re thinking offense, but I don’t think they’re looking in the right areas. Jalen sees the transition game really well, and with 3-on-3 there’s a lot of transition. When you get the puck, you’ve got to go. We’re not sweeping back and doing a lot of setting up. We want quick attacks, and Jalen’s good at that.”