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Craig Smith (ice hockey)

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Craig Smith
Smith with the Nashville Predators in 2012
Born (1989-09-05) September 5, 1989 (age 35)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
KalPa
Boston Bruins
Washington Capitals
Dallas Stars
National team  United States
NHL draft 98th overall, 2009
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2011–present

Craig Smith (born September 5, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round, 98th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

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Smith attended La Follette High School in Madison, Wisconsin playing for head coach Jeff Weum and leading the team in scoring as a freshman. His junior year of high school he ended up being drafted by the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL.[1] Smith played three seasons (2006/07, 2007/08, & 2008/09) with the Black Hawks located in Waterloo, Iowa.[2] During this time he achieved 49 goals and 68 assists (117 points) in 157 regular season games.[3] He was named to the USHL First All-Star Team for the 2008–09 season.[4]

Following his time in Waterloo, Smith attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he was a member of the men's hockey team for two seasons (2009/10 & 2010/11) of which he was the captain for the 2010/11 season. Smith managed 27 goals and 49 assists (159 points) in 82 regular season games at Wisconsin.[5]

Smith also participated at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team. He then went on to play two years at the University of Wisconsin for the Badgers ice hockey team.

Smith was drafted 98th overall in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the Nashville Predators.[6] On October 7, 2011, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Smith made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal, which came against Steve Mason. He played ten seasons (2012-2020) with the Predators during which he played four games with the Predator's AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2012/13 season. Smith spent the beginning of the 2012/13 season playing for KalPa of the SM-I in Finland due to the 2012 NHL Lockout.

Following the 2014–15 season, Smith became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Predators made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Smith filed for Salary Arbitration.[7] On July 20, prior to his scheduled meeting, Smith entered into a new five-year, $21.25 million contract with the Predators.[8]

On September 29, 2020, after nine seasons with Nashville, Smith informed the team that he would not sign a new contract with them and that he would become a free agent. On October 10, he signed a three-year, $9.3 million contract with the Boston Bruins.[9] Smith played two and a half seasons in Boston (2020-2023) before being traded to the Washington Capitals during the 2022/23 NHL season.

On May 19, 2021, Smith scored the Game 3 double overtime winner for the Bruins against the Washington Capitals, giving them a 2–1 series lead in their first round series. He scored a goal when Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov misplayed the puck behind the net. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin visibly scolded him in Russian after the game ended.[10][11][12] The Bruins then went on to win the series against the Capitals in five games.

On February 23, 2023, Smith (along with 3 draft picks) was traded from the Bruins to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov.[13] Following the 2022/23 season Smithre-entered free agency and signed a one-year contract worth one million dollars with the Dallas Stars for the 2023/24 season on the first day of free agency.[14]

After one season with the Dallas Stars, Smith again became a free agent and signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 1, 2024.[15]


Smith with the United States men's national hockey team in a game against German's men's national hockey team.
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Sweden/Finland
World Junior A Challenge
Gold medal – first place 2008 Camrose
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Trail

Personal

[edit]

Smith states he began playing hockey when he was three years old. [16] He then played hockey in high school before being drafted into the USHL. After a successful USHL career Smith was drafted into the NHL by the Nashville Predators. Following his USHL career he joined the University of Wisconsin's Men's hockey team. From there he earned a spot on Nashville's NHL roster.

In 2009, during an interview with Wisconsin athletics, Smith is quoted saying his favorite school subject is math, his favorite video game is Mario Kart, his favorite TV show was Friends, and his favorite music artist was the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[17]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 La Follette High School HS-WI 20 16 24 40 — — — — —
2005–06 La Follette High School HS-WI 20 35 26 61 — — — — —
2006–07 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 45 8 10 18 28 4 0 1 1 8
2007–08 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 58 13 10 23 90 11 2 3 5 8
2008–09 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 54 28 48 76 108 3 1 3 4 26
2009–10 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 8 25 33 72 — — — — —
2010–11 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 19 24 43 87 — — — — —
2011–12 Nashville Predators NHL 72 14 22 36 30 2 0 1 1 0
2012–13 KalPa SM-l 8 4 4 8 20 — — — — —
2012–13 Nashville Predators NHL 44 4 8 12 20 — — — — —
2012–13 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 4 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Nashville Predators NHL 79 24 28 52 22 — — — — —
2014–15 Nashville Predators NHL 82 23 21 44 44 6 2 3 5 0
2015–16 Nashville Predators NHL 82 21 16 37 40 11 1 1 2 4
2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 78 12 17 29 30 10 1 2 3 2
2017–18 Nashville Predators NHL 79 25 26 51 24 13 2 2 4 2
2018–19 Nashville Predators NHL 76 21 17 38 20 6 1 0 1 2
2019–20 Nashville Predators NHL 69 18 13 31 34 4 0 0 0 2
2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 54 13 19 32 18 10 2 3 5 4
2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 74 16 20 36 28 7 0 0 0 2
2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 42 4 6 10 14 — — — — —
2022–23 Washington Capitals NHL 22 5 1 6 4 — — — — —
2023–24 Dallas Stars NHL 75 11 9 20 33 14 0 2 2 2
NHL totals 928 211 223 434 361 83 9 14 23 20

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States WJAC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 0 0 0 0
2009 United States WJAC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 3 5 8 2
2011 United States WC 8th 7 3 3 6 4
2012 United States WC 7th 4 0 2 2 2
2013 United States WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 4 10 14 18
2014 United States WC 6th 8 3 5 8 10
Senior totals 29 10 20 30 34

Awards and honors

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Award Year
USHL
All-Star Game 2009
First All-Star Team 2009 [4]
College
All-WCHA Rookie Team 2010 [18]

References

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  1. ^ Madison.com, by Andy Baggot, October 31, 2006, retrieved May 26, 2020
  2. ^ "Craig Smith (b.1989) Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  3. ^ "Craig Smith - Stats, Contract, Salary & More". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  4. ^ a b "Craig Smith profile". The Hockey News. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  5. ^ "Craig Smith - Stats, Contract, Salary & More". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  6. ^ "Craig Smith (b.1989) Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  7. ^ "Smith files for arbitration". National Hockey League. 2015-07-05. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  8. ^ "Predators sign Craig Smith to a five year contract". Nashville Predators. 2015-07-20. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  9. ^ "Bruins sign Craig Smith to a three-year contract". Boston Bruins. October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (May 19, 2021). "Capitals rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov made exactly the kind of mistake you worry about in the playoffs. It worked out for the Bruins". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  11. ^ "Ilya Samsonov's short Caps career has seen highs and lows. His Game 3 packed in both". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  12. ^ "Smith scores in 2nd OT to lead Bruins past Capitals 3–2". AP NEWS. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  13. ^ "Capitals trading Orlov, Hathaway to Bruins for Smith, three picks". Sportsnet.
  14. ^ "Stars sign forward Craig Smith to a one-year contract | Dallas Stars". www.nhl.com. 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  15. ^ "Blackhawks sign Maroon, Smith and Anderson". Chicago Blackhawks. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Breaking the ice with Craig Smith". Wisconsin Badgers. 2009-10-14. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  17. ^ "Breaking the ice with Craig Smith". Wisconsin Badgers. 2009-10-14. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  18. ^ The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. 2010. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
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