Dan Smith (born October 19, 1976) is a Canadian former 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 h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played primarily 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), he also played 22 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

and the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

between 1998 and 2005.

Playing career

Smith was selected 181st overall in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. ...

, by the

. After completing his junior career with the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio ...

of the WHL, Smith made his professional debut with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

, Colorado's AHL farm team. During his five years with the Colorado, Smith played only 15 games for Avalanche, with the bulk of his time being spent with the Bears. After a year playing in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and another year in the Phoenix Coyotes organization (playing for the AHL Springfield Falcons), Smith signed with the

on August 21, 2003. In the three years Smith was part of the Oilers organization, he played nearly all the time with Edmonton's respective AHL affiliate. He collected another seven games during the 2005–06 season with the big club. On July 13, 2006, Smith was signed by the Detroit Red Wings. After the Red Wings training camp, Smith was assigned to Detroit's AHL affiliate, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

, with whom he played the 2006–07 season. For the 2007–08 season, on July 11, 2007, Smith was signed 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 ...

. Added as depth for their affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, Smith's veteran presence helped guide the Crunch to the second round of the playoffs. Smith re-signed on July 8, 2008, with the Crunch for the following 2008–09 season. Named captain, the tenth in Syracuse history, Smith missed only one game in the year as the Crunch failed to qualify for the playoffs. Smith retired on December 10, 2009.

Career statistics

Transactions

*July 8, 1995 - Smith drafted by Colorado Avalanche *August 8, 2002 - Smith signs with Phoenix Coyotes *August 21, 2003 - Smith signs with Edmonton Oilers *July 13, 2006 - Smith signs with Detroit Red Wings *July 11, 2007 - Smith signs with Columbus Blue Jackets

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dan 1976 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Colorado Gold Kings players Edmonton Oilers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Lukko players People from Fernie, British Columbia Springfield Falcons players Syracuse Crunch players Toronto Roadrunners players Tri-City Americans players