Ben Smith

Benjamin Alexander Smith (born July 11, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche. Additionally, Smith played in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Rögle BK and in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for Adler Mannheim and EHC München.

Smith was a member of the Blackhawks 2013 Stanley Cup winning team.

Playing career As a youth, Smith played in the 2001 and 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the New York Rangers minor ice hockey team.

Smith graduated from Westminster School in 2006 and played four seasons at Boston College, helping the Eagles win two national championships. While playing for BC, Smith was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 169th overall in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL entry draft.

On October 29, 2010 the Blackhawks recalled Smith from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs to make his NHL debut in a home game against the Edmonton Oilers. He scored his first NHL goal on April 8, 2011 against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. On April 15, 2011, Smith scored 2 goals against the Vancouver Canucks in a 4–3 loss in only his second NHL playoff game. On April 24, 2011, during game six of the Western Conference quarterfinals, Smith scored the overtime goal on a rebound against the Vancouver Canucks' goaltender, Roberto Luongo, to force a game seven in Vancouver after the Canucks had previously been leading the series 3–0. The Blackhawks ended up losing game seven in overtime.

On June 17, 2013, Smith was called up to play his first Stanley Cup Final game, a 2–0 loss to the Boston Bruins, to fill in over the injured Marián Hossa. In the previous playoff run, Smith scored four goals in all 19 playoff games to help the Blackhawks advance to the Western Conference Final. He scored his first goal with the Sharks the same day in their shutout game against the Montreal Canadiens, but remained for most of the season with the Sharks' AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda.

On February 27, 2016, Smith, Alex Stalock and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018 were traded by the Sharks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for James Reimer and Jeremy Morin.

Despite putting up acceptable numbers with the Maple Leafs, Smith was placed on waivers by the team on March 30, 2016. Smith cleared the following day and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Despite being considered to be favourites to win the Calder Cup, the Marlies were eliminated in the third round of the playoffs, with Smith contributing nine points in their fifteen-game run. worth $675,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the AHL level. Having made the Avalanche opening night roster, Smith made his debut with Colorado to start the 2016–17 season in a 6–5 victory over the Dallas Stars on October 15, 2016. Smith would play in four scoreless games for the Avalanche before being placed on waivers and being claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 24, 2016. Smith was claimed due to the depth he provided the team on the penalty kill, a position coach Mike Babcock praised him for during his stint the previous season in Toronto.

In the 2017–18 season, he won the Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies, serving as team captain. On June 15, 2018, he signed with Adler Mannheim of the German DEL.

After a second stint with Adler Mannheim, Smith remained in the DEL, agreeing to a one-year contract with EHC München on May 10, 2021.

Personal life Smith was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and raised in Avon, Connecticut. Smith is the first player born in the state of North Carolina to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Smith's younger brother played Division I soccer for William & Mary. His uncle is Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2004–05 Boston Jr. Bruins EJHL 32 10 18 28 0 — — — — — 2005–06 Westminster School HS-Prep 26 23 35 58 12 — — — — — 2005–06 Boston Little Bruins 18U AAA 26 14 24 38 6 — — — — — 2006–07 Boston College HE 42 10 8 18 10 — — — — — 2007–08 Boston College HE 44 25 25 50 12 — — — — — 2008–09 Boston College HE 37 6 11 17 6 — — — — — 2009–10 Boston College HE 42 16 21 37 8 — — — — — 2009–10 Rockford IceHogs AHL — — — — — 3 1 0 1 0 2010–11 Rockford IceHogs AHL 63 19 12 31 16 — — — — — 2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 1 0 1 0 7 3 0 3 0 2011–12 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 2 0 2 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Rockford IceHogs AHL 38 15 16 31 10 — — — — — 2012–13 Rockford IceHogs AHL 54 27 20 47 13 — — — — — 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 75 14 12 26 2 19 4 2 6 2 2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 5 4 9 2 — — — — — 2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 19 2 3 5 0 — — — — — 2015–16 San Jose Sharks NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 14 8 2 10 4 — — — — — 2015–16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 16 2 4 6 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Toronto Marlies AHL 5 4 2 6 0 15 2 7 9 2 2016–17 Colorado Avalanche NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 36 2 2 4 4 — — — — — 2017–18 Toronto Marlies AHL 73 27 32 59 10 20 7 9 16 0 2018–19 Adler Mannheim DEL 52 11 24 35 6 14 7 7 14 2 2019–20 Adler Mannheim DEL 52 20 25 45 4 — — — — — 2020–21 Rögle BK SHL 10 1 3 4 6 — — — — — 2020–21 Adler Mannheim DEL 33 12 15 27 6 6 2 4 6 0 2021–22 EHC München DEL 44 16 16 32 14 11 5 4 9 6 2022–23 EHC München DEL 43 17 18 35 4 18 5 7 12 6 2023–24 EHC München DEL 39 5 16 21 8 5 0 1 1 2 2024–25 EHC München DEL 12 3 3 6 4 — — — — — NHL totals 237 29 25 54 8 27 7 2 9 2 DEL totals 275 84 117 201 46 54 19 23 42 16

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2005 United States U18 5th 5 2 2 4 0 2015 United States WC 10 2 0 2 0 Senior totals 10 2 0 2 0

Awards and honors

On May 2, 2017, Smith agreed to a one-year extension to remain with the Maple Leafs. Award YearCollege All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2008, 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Championship (Boston College) 2008, 2010 AHL Second All-Star Team 2018 Calder Cup champion 2018 NHL Stanley Cup champion 2013 DEL DEL champion 2019, 2023