Ben Smith (ice hockey, born 1988)

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
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
National team  United States
NHL Draft 169th overall, 2008
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2010present

Benjamin Alexander Smith (born July 11, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey player currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs of 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. 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.[4]

On March 2, 2015, Smith was traded by the Blackhawks to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Andrew Desjardins.[5] He scored his first goal with the Sharks the same day in their shutout game against the Montreal Canadiens.[6]

On February 27th, 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, Jeremy Morin.[7]

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.[8]

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
NHL totals 197 27 23 50 4 27 7 2 9 2
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
2015 Czech Republic

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 United States WC 3rd 10 2 0 2 0
Senior totals 10 2 0 2 0

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2008 [9]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2010 [9]
Stanley Cup 2013 [10]

References

  1. "Ben Smith draft prospect profile". National Hockey League. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  2. "Blackhawks recall forward Smith". Chicagobreakingsports.com. 2010-10-29. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  3. "Smith's tally keeps Hawks alive". Fox News. 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  4. "Blackhawks agree to terms with Smith, Raanta". Chicago Blackhawks. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  5. "Blackhawks trade Ben Smith to San Jose for Andrew Desjardins". Chicago Sun-Times. 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  6. "Montréal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks - 03/02/2015". Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  7. "Maple Leafs trade goaltender James Reimer to Sharks". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  8. "Leafs place Ben Smith on waivers". The Leafs Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  10. "Ben Smith player profile". The Hockey News. 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-06-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ben Smith.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Dean Strong
Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award
2009–10
Succeeded by
Brian Flynn
Preceded by
Colby Cohen
NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2010
Succeeded by
J. T. Brown
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