Returning and Contributing to Penguins "Means the World" to DeSmith
The goaltender has been named the team's Masterton nominee for this season
After buying a home and getting settled in Pittsburgh, DeSmith's world was rocked when Penguins management informed the goaltender that he would be returning to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the 2019-20 season.
"I think that the hardest and maybe the lowest point was right after the preseason, when I was told I was getting sent down after I thought I had a really good year and I wasn't really worried about potentially being sent down," DeSmith said. "And then it happened. It was kind of a shock to the system a little bit."
But DeSmith fought to make the best of his situation. He remained in contact with Penguins goalie coach Mike Buckley and worked with his mental coach TC Cummings on staying positive and staying ready if another opportunity came along. And when it did this season, DeSmith has made the most of it.
The commitment that DeSmith displayed not just to get him back to this point led to the 29-year-old netminder being voted the Penguins' Masterton Trophy nominee by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Professional Hockey Writers Association.
The Masterton Trophy is given out yearly by the NHL to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport of hockey.
"I think (the word perseverance) could apply to most of my career, if not the whole thing," DeSmith said. "I obviously had a unique journey and path that I've taken to get here. I'm fortunate with how that path has taken me to be here now. I feel very fortunate."
DeSmith first signed with the Penguins organization in the summer of 2015 on an AHL-only deal and started his professional career with Wheeling of the ECHL.
He worked his way up to WBS for the 2016-17 season, where DeSmith was named to the league's All-Rookie Team and teamed with Tristan Jarry to help the team win the Harry "Hap" Holmes Award given to the AHL team that surrenders the fewest goals on the year.
DeSmith got his first NHL contract the following summer, and made his NHL debut at the age of 26 in a relief effort on Oct. 29, 2017 at Winnipeg. He ended up appearing in 14 games that season, setting the stage for his breakout 2018-19 campaign.
DeSmith would handle most of the goaltending duties over the first three-plus months of that year as Matt Murray missed significant time due to various injuries - impressing Pittsburgh's coaching and hockey operations staff with his solid, consistent play.
That earned DeSmith a three-year extension with an average annual value of $1.25 million, with the deal being announced on Jan. 11, 2019, with then-Penguins GM Jim Rutherford praising the netminder for how he excelled at every level of his pro career
DeSmith had every reason to think he was in Pittsburgh to stay, but hockey is a business. Circumstances beyond his control led to DeSmith returning to Wilkes-Barre, where he lived in a hotel while handling the challenges of being a bonafide starter for the first time in his pro career and trying not to let the disappointment of his situation affect him.
Working with Buckley and Cummings, an ex-Navy Seal based out of San Diego who is now a visionary coach and trainer, helped DeSmith keep the right mindset to deal with it all.
"(Cummings) and I have been working together for my entire career, so he's been a continuous part of my life and someone I lean on on a weekly basis," DeSmith said. "The stuff we do, it's pretty liquid. It's changing all the time, whether it's different mantras or exercises that we're doing.
"But it's all about positivity and making the best of the situation that I'm in. I think just having fun at the rink with whatever I'm doing, I think that's a big part of being able to persevere even when things maybe aren't going my way."
There were some good months, and there were some bad months. But DeSmith was proud of how he handled those ups and downs, and it helped that he was reunited with a lot of guys he had played with before.
"We had a great group in the locker room," DeSmith said. "I got along with everyone. It was a really fun locker room, a really fun team to be a part of. I think that was a huge positive for me going down there and just having a lot of close friends and having a really good room to kind of fit into right away."
That is the same situation DeSmith returned to in Pittsburgh, where he was thrilled to be reunited with players and staff he had spent time with previously. His comfortability in that respect, along with the comfortability that comes with age and experience, led to him putting together a strong regular season.
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With the shortened, condensed season, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was adamant that they would need to lean on both of their goaltenders to help them win hockey games. And when DeSmith was called on, he delivered.
He finished the year with an 11-7 record, .912 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average in 20 appearances, allowing two or less goals in eight of his last 12 starts. For him not just to get back to the NHL level, but do so in a meaningful way "means the world" to DeSmith.
"Obviously, it was easy to let doubt creep in my mind last year a little bit when I was sent down, and the team wasn't a Calder Cup-winning team last year," he said. "So we had our ups and downs as a team, and me personally as well. So to come back up here and kind of fit right into the team again right away and be able to contribute so much this year has been a real blessing."
