Nathan Smith (ice hockey)

Nathan Smith
Born	February 9, 1982 (1982-02-09) (age 29) Edmonton, AB, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
AHL team Former teams	Syracuse Crunch NHL: Vancouver Canucks Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota Wild DEL: Augsburger Panther
NHL Draft	23rd overall, 2000 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	2002–present

Nathan Smith (born February 10, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.

Playing career

Smith was drafted 23rd overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. After spending four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League, Smith signed his first professional contract with the Canucks on May 31, 2002, a day before his rights were due to expire.^[1] He made his professional debut in the American Hockey League with the Manitoba Moose in the 2002-03 season. His time spent in the Vancouver organization was filled with injuries, including an almost-career ending knee injury suffered during his 3rd season.

Smith signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 12, 2007. On April 27, 2008, Smith was arrested and charged with indecent exposure after he was observed streaking in Scranton. He claimed he was acting on a bet.^[2] Smith played in over 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also scored his first NHL goal which was later called off. Smith acted as Captain for the affiliate team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and took his team to the Calder Cup finals, which they lost to the Chicago Wolves in game 5 of the final series.

On July 10, 2008, Smith signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.^[3] He was assigned to affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, for the 2008–09 season, and played as captain, before suffering a season-ending knee injury on January 23, 2009.^[4]

On July 22, 2009, Smith signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild.^[5] In the 2009–10 season, Smith made his return to the NHL on October 14, 2009, in a 3-2 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks.^[6] He played in 9 games with the Wild throughout the season, but primarily played with AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, to score 37 points in 67 games.

On August 6, 2010, Smith left North America and signed a one-year contract with German team, Augsburger Panther of the DEL.^[7]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Swift Current Broncos	WHL		47	5	8	13	26		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Swift Current Broncos	WHL		70	21	28	49	72		12	1	6	7	4
2000–01	Swift Current Broncos	WHL		67	28	62	90	78		19	4	3	7	20
2001–02	Swift Current Broncos	WHL		47	22	38	60	52		12	3	6	9	18
2002–03	Manitoba Moose	AHL		53	9	8	17	30		14	1	3	4	25
2003–04	Manitoba Moose	AHL		76	4	16	20	71		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Manitoba Moose	AHL		72	7	9	16	67		14	2	4	6	20
2005–06	Manitoba Moose	AHL		20	5	4	9	57		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Manitoba Moose	AHL		72	19	21	40	76		6	0	1	1	12
2006–07	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		4	0	0	0	0
2007–08	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		68	22	28	50	61		22	7	11	18	40
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		13	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL		44	6	10	16	42		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Houston Aeros	AHL		67	14	23	37	83		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Minnesota Wild	NHL		9	0	0	0	12		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Augsburger Panther	DEL		52	4	12	16	42		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				26	0	0	0	14		4	0	0	0	0

References

1. ^ "Vancouver signs 2000 draft pick, could lose another". ESPN. 2002-05-31. http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0531/1389442.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
2. ^ "Smith caught streaking; Stone arrested for public drunkenness". ESPN. 2008-04-29. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3373639. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
3. ^ "Avalanche sign Nathan Smith, six others". American Hockey League. 2008-07-15. http://www.theahl.com/news/league/index.html?article_id=8839. Retrieved 2008-11-10. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Monsters strong form continues". News-herald.com. 2009-02-01. http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/02/01/sports/nh428717.txt. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
5. ^ "Wild sign center Nathan Smith". Star Tribune. 2009-07-22. http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/51426992.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUBP7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr. Retrieved 2009-07-23. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Perry's two goals leads Ducks past Wild, 3-2.". Yahoo! Sports. 2009-10-14. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2009101425. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
7. ^ "Panthers fill last quota with Nathan Smith" (in German). Augsburger Panther. 2010-08-06. http://www.aev-panther.de/aev/Augsburger+Panther/Homepage.html?naid=476. Retrieved 2010-08-10. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Nathan Smith's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Nathan Smith's NHL player profile

Preceded by Henrik Sedin

Vancouver Canucks first round pick 2000

Succeeded by R. J. Umberger

Persondata
Name	Smith, Nathan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 9, 1982
Place of birth	Edmonton, AB, CAN
Date of death
Place of death