Smith, 26 (10/28/95), is tied for fourth among Admirals skaters in points this season with six (3g-3a) through nine AHL contests. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound forward has points in each of his last four games, including a two-assist performance on Nov. 6 vs. Iowa, his first multi-point outing of the season. Smith scored his first goal of 2021-22 - a penalty-shot tally in overtime - on Nov. 5 vs Manitoba, and has scored in consecutive games, one of which came on the power play Nov. 7 at Chicago.
Undrafted, Smith is in his second professional season after spending time at the NHL, AHL and ECHL levels in 2020-21. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 14, 2021 vs. Columbus - his lone NHL appearance to date and also featured in five games for the ECHL's Florida Everblades before spending the majority of the campaign in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, where he had 10 points (5g-5a) in 23 appearances. Smith was signed as a free agent in March 2020 following a four-year career at the University of North Dakota, where he posted 51 points (24g-27a) in 137 games. In his final season with the Fighting Hawks, he contributed a career-high 18 points (11g-7a) en route to winning the NCHC's regular-season title. The Brainerd, Minn., native earned multiple team awards while at North Dakota, including the Cliff "Fido" Purpur Award in 2018-19, given to the Fighting Hawks player who exemplifies hard work and determination, and the Most Improved Player Award following his sophomore season.
