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Ben Smith (ice hockey, born 1988)

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Not to be confused with Ben Smith (ice hockey coach).

Ben Smith
Smith with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014
Born (1988-07-11) July 11, 1988 (age 36)
Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks
Colorado Avalanche
National team  United States
NHL draft 169th overall, 2008
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2010–present

Benjamin Alexander Smith (born July 11, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing on his second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL)

Smith was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and raised in Avon, Connecticut.[1] Smith graduated from Westminster School (Connecticut) in 2006.

Playing career

Smith was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 169th overall in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He played four seasons at Boston College.

On October 29, 2010 the Blackhawks recalled Smith from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs to make his NHL debut in a home game against the Edmonton Oilers.[2] He scored his first NHL goal on April 8, 2011 against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. On April 15, 2011, Smith scored 2 goals against the Vancouver Canucks in a 4–3 loss in only his second NHL playoff game.

On Sunday, April 24, 2011, during Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, Smith scored the overtime goal on a rebound against the Vancouver Canucks' goaltender, Roberto Luongo, to force a Game 7 in Vancouver after the Canucks had previously been leading the series 3–0. The Blackhawks ended up losing Game 7 in overtime.[3]

On June 17, 2013, Smith was called up to play his first Stanley Cup Finals game, a 2–0 loss to the Boston Bruins, to fill in over the injured Marián Hossa.[4] The Blackhawks won the Cup on June 24, 2013, when they defeated the Bruins in Game 6. On June 27, 2014, the Blackhawks signed him to a two-year contract extension.[5] In the following season, Smith scored four goals in 19 playoff games to help the Blackhawks advance to the Western Conference finals.[4]

On March 2, 2015, Smith was traded by the Blackhawks to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Andrew Desjardins.[6] He scored his first goal with the Sharks the same day in their shutout game against the Montreal Canadiens,[7] but remained for most of the season with the Sharks' AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda.[4]

On February 27, 2016, Smith, Alex Stalock and a conditional 4th round pick in 2018 were traded by the Sharks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for James Reimer and Jeremy Morin.[8]

Despite putting up acceptable numbers with the Maple Leafs, Smith was placed on waivers by the team on March 30, 2016. Smith cleared the following day and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.[9] Despite being considered to be favourites to win the Calder Cup, the Marlies were eliminated in the third round of the playoffs, with Smith contributing nine points in their fifteen game run.

On August 16, 2016, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Colorado Avalanche,[10] worth $675,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the AHL level.[11] Having made the Avalanche opening night roster, Smith made his debut with Colorado to start the 2016–17 season in a 6-5 victory over the Dallas Stars on October 15, 2016.[12] Smith would play in four scoreless games for the Avalanche before being placed on waivers and being claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 24, 2016. Smith was claimed due to the depth he provided the team on the penalty kill, a position coach Mike Babcock praised him for during his stint the previous season in Toronto.[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 Boston College HE 42 10 8 18 10 — — — — —
2007–08 Boston College HE 44 25 25 50 12 — — — — —
2008–09 Boston College HE 37 6 11 17 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Boston College HE 42 16 21 37 8 — — — — —
2009–10 Rockford IceHogs AHL — — — — — 3 1 0 1 0
2010–11 Rockford IceHogs AHL 63 19 12 31 16 — — — — —
2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 1 0 1 0 7 3 0 3 0
2011–12 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Rockford IceHogs AHL 38 15 16 31 10 — — — — —
2012–13 Rockford IceHogs AHL 54 27 20 47 13 — — — — —
2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 75 14 12 26 2 19 4 2 6 2
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 5 4 9 2 — — — — —
2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 19 2 3 5 0 — — — — —
2015–16 San Jose Sharks NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 14 8 2 10 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 16 2 4 6 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Toronto Marlies AHL 5 4 2 6 0 15 2 7 9 2
2016–17 Colorado Avalanche NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 201 27 23 50 4 27 7 2 9 2
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Czech Republic

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 United States WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 2 0 2 0
Senior totals 10 2 0 2 0

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2008 [14]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2010 [14]
Stanley Cup 2013 [15]

References

  1. ^ "Ben Smith draft prospect profile". National Hockey League. February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Blackhawks recall forward Smith". Chicagobreakingsports.com. October 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Smith's tally keeps Hawks alive". Fox News. April 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Pinchevsky, Tal (June 5, 2016). "For N.H.L.'s Black Aces, It's an Opportunity in Spades". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  5. ^ "Blackhawks agree to terms with Smith, Raanta". Chicago Blackhawks. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Blackhawks trade Ben Smith to San Jose for Andrew Desjardins". Chicago Sun-Times. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Montréal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks - 03/02/2015". Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "Maple Leafs trade goaltender James Reimer to Sharks". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  9. ^ "Leafs place Ben Smith on waivers". The Leafs Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  10. ^ "Avalanche Signs Ben Smith". Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved August 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  11. ^ "Avalanche Signs Ben Smith". Today's Slapshot. Retrieved August 18, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  12. ^ "Colborne scores three goals as Avs hang on to defeat Stars". CBS Sports. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Brownscombe, Alec (October 24, 2016). "Toronto Maple Leafs place Milan Michalek on waivers, claim Ben Smith from Colorado". Maple Leafs Hot Stove. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  15. ^ "Ben Smith player profile". The Hockey News. June 19, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ben Smith.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award
2009–10 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2010 		Succeeded by
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