Cole Smith (ice hockey)

Cole Smith (born October 28, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

This article is about the American ice hockey player. For the Canadian mixed martial artist, see Cole Smith.

Cole Smith
Born (1995-10-28) October 28, 1995
Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team Nashville Predators
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2020–present

Early life

Smith was born in Brainerd, Minnesota. He played junior hockey in Canada with the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League before joining the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in 2016. In his senior year of college hockey (2019–2020), Smith was a key component of a Fighting Hawks team that posted the top regular season record in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) but was unable to compete for the conference and national championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Smith was named as a finalist for the NCHC's top defensive forward award.[2]

Career

Upon leaving the University of North Dakota, Smith signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators on March 19, 2020, but did not see any action during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.[1] He played five games with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL in December 2020 before joining the Predators' training camp for the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season.[3] He was named to the Predators' "taxi squad" but then recalled to the active roster for the start of the season, making his NHL debut on January 14, 2021, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.[4]

On January 21, 2023, Smith scored his first career goal in a game against the Los Angeles Kings.[5]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Brainerd High USHS 25 17 6 23 25 3 1 1 2 2
2012–13 Brainerd High USHS 24 21 18 39 53 3 1 2 3 0
2013–14 Brainerd High USHS 23 18 23 41 50 2 1 1 2 2
2014–15 Steinbach Pistons MJHL 38 12 11 23 25 12 6 2 8 2
2015–16 Steinbach Pistons MJHL 54 26 35 61 45 15 7 11 18 16
2016–17 U. of North Dakota NCHC 29 3 4 7 24 — — — — —
2017–18 U. of North Dakota NCHC 37 5 5 10 66 — — — — —
2018–19 U. of North Dakota NCHC 37 5 11 16 50 — — — — —
2019–20 U. of North Dakota NCHC 34 11 7 18 37 — — — — —
2020–21 Florida Everblades ECHL 5 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Chicago Wolves AHL 23 5 5 10 16 — — — — —
2021–22 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 59 21 20 41 62 9 3 2 5 8
2021–22 Nashville Predators NHL 8 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2022–23 Nashville Predators NHL 69 4 13 17 60 — — — — —
NHL totals 784131760 —————

References
  1. "Predators sign forward Cole Smith to one-year deal". ESPN.com. 20 March 2020.
  2. "Cole Smith signs with Nashville Predators". Grand Forks Herald. 19 March 2020.
  3. "Predators Recall Five from ECHL's Florida Everblades". NHL.com. 28 December 2020.
  4. Predators Recall Smith from Taxi Squad, Assign Craggs to AHL Chicago, NHL.com, 14 January 2021
  5. "Cole Smith scores first NHL goal". Grand Forks Herald. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
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