James Stephen Smith (born 30 April 1963) is a Scottish-born 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 and former assistant coach of 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 ...

, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. He played 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 ...

(NHL) from 1984–85 to 2000–01 and coached from 2010-11 to 2020-21. Currently Smith is an assistant coach with the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League (AHL). Smith played in the 1990 Allstar game in Chicago and was part of the 1991 Canadian Team to win the Canada Cup in Toronto. Smith grew up in Cobourg, Ontario (also home of former NHL player Justin Williams) and has two brothers David and Ian.

Playing career

Smith played for the London knights of the Ontario Hockey League from 1980-81 to 1982-83 before being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, 111th overall. He spent his first 2 years of professional hockey (1983-84 to 1984-85) playing for the Oilers minor league affiliate teams (Moncton and Halifax). He played with the Oilers starting in the 1984/85 season. He went on to play 804 career games scoring 375 points (72-303-375) along with 2139 penalty minutes. Smith also played in 134 Stanley Cup Playoff games, scoring 52 points (11-41-52). Smith played for the Oilers until the end of the 1990–91 season, winning three Stanley Cups with the team. He then played for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

until 1997. He announced his retirement due to injury following the 1996–97 season, but made a comeback 1998-99 playing parts of three seasons with the Flames, retiring for good in December 2000.

Coaching career

Smith was an assistant coach with the Flames in 1997–98. He worked as a scout with the Chicago Blackhawks prior to spending four seasons on the Oilers coaching staff from 2010 to 2014. He was hired as an assistant coach of the Hurricanes in June 2014, then as the assistant coach of the Sabres in July 2018. Smith, along with head coach Ralph Krueger were relieved of their duties by the Sabres on 17 March 2021. He now works with the New York Rangers minor league affiliate team the Hartford Wolfpack as an assistant coach.

Personal life

Smith was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom, but grew up in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

. He is married and has five children. His son, Barron Smith (born 2 April 1991), was selected by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in the 7th round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Awards

* 1986–87 –

NHL 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 ...

– Stanley Cup (

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

) * 1987–88 – NHL – Stanley Cup (Edmonton) * 1989–90 – NHL – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

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Video of the own-goal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Steve 1963 births Brantford Alexanders players Buffalo Sabres coaches Calgary Flames captains Calgary Flames coaches Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Carolina Hurricanes coaches Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Blackhawks scouts Edmonton Oilers coaches Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Living people London Knights players Moncton Alpines (AHL) players National Hockey League All-Stars Nova Scotia Oilers players Scottish emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Glasgow Sportspeople from London, Ontario Stanley Cup champions