Dalton Smith (born 30 June 1992) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played with the

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hoc ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). Smith was selected by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

in the 2nd round (34th overall) of the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

Playing career

Smith played four seasons (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

–

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

) of major junior hockey with the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL), scoring 50 goals and 55 assists for 105 points, and earning 328 penalty minutes, over 196 games. On 8 August 2011, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed Smith to a three-year entry-level contract. At the 2013–14 trade deadline, the Blue Jackets traded Smith and

Jonathan Marchessault Jonathan Marchessault (né Audy-Marchessault; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Ba ...

, to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

in exchange for

Dana Tyrell Dana Tyrell (born April 23, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Tyrell was selected in the second-round (47th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. ...

and

Matt Taormina Matthew Angelo Taormina (born October 20, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played with the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career As a youth, Taormina ...

on 5 March 2014,. Smith spent the 2014–15 season with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

. When Smith's contract was not renewed, he accepted a try-out contract with the Providence Bruins of the AHL on 3 October 2015. Failing to catch on in Providence, Smith was signed to a one-year contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He played 11 games with the Phantoms. After not being resigned by the Phantoms Smith attended the training camp of the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

of the AHL. Smith belatedly signed a one-year contract with Charlotte near the start of the 2016–17 season, moving down one tier to their

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

affiliate, the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (N ...

, on 9 October 2016. After playing out the season with the Everblades, recording a professional high 23 points in 60 games, Smith as a free agent the following summer attended the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

2017 training camp on 25 September 2017. During the 2019–20 season, his 8th professional year, on December 30, 2019, Smith signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Americans' parent NHL club, the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. He was recalled to make his long-awaited NHL debut with the Sabres against the

on December 31, 2019, registering 2 penalty minutes in 1:26 of ice-time in a 6–4 defeat. He was placed on waivers to return to Rochester on 2 January 2020. At the conclusion of his contract, Smith was not extended by the Sabres and as a free agent opted to remain within the organization, continuing his tenure in the AHL with the Americans on a one-year deal on 12 October 2020. On 29 July 2021, Smith left Rochester after four seasons and signed to add a veteran presence on a one-year contract with the

of the AHL. Smith enjoyed his most productive season in the AHL since 2015 during the 2021–22 season, collecting 5 goals and 11 points in 52 regular season games. On 28 June 2022, Smith agreed to a two-year contract extension to remain with the Eagles.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dalton 1992 births Living people Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Colorado Eagles players Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks Florida Everblades players Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Ontario Junior Hockey League players Ottawa 67's players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Ice hockey people from Oshawa Springfield Falcons players Syracuse Crunch players