C. J. Smith

Connor Jeffrey Smith (born December 1, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward who plays for the Fischtown Pinguins of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Playing career

Amateur Smith grew up playing hockey in Des Moines before moving with his family to Minnesota when he was 14. He played college hockey for UMass Lowell of Hockey East for three seasons while majoring in chemistry. In his freshman season at UMass, Smith was named to the All Hockey East Rookie Team after he led the team with 16 goals, 19 assists for a total of 35 points. He also became the first River Hawk rookie since Scott Wilson in 2011 to score 30 points in a season. On April 21, Smith and Zack Kamrass were awarded the UMass Lowell Hockey Most Valuable Player Award. Smith was also awarded the River Hawks Rookie of the Year.

In his sophomore year, Smith was named to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team and won the River Hawks leading scorer award. In the 2016 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Smith helped Massachusetts–Lowell beat Boston University in the Quarterfinals to advance to the Semifinals and eventually the Championship.

In his junior year, Smith was named a semi-finalist for the Walter Brown Award as the best American-born college hockey player in New England. The River Hawks won the 2017 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and Smith was named to the All Tournament Team and Tournament MVP. On March 29, 2017, Smith chose to forgo his senior year at UMass and signed as an undrafted free agent by the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres.

Professional

Smith made his Sabres debut on April 2, 2017 in a 4–2 loss to the New York Islanders, in which he also got his first NHL point with an assist on a goal by Evander Kane. When Smith made his debut, he became one of only two players in league history to have been born in the state of Iowa, joining goaltender Scott Clemmensen.

Smith played the 2017–18 season with the Sabres American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In his rookie season with the Americans, Smith was named to the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic on January 4, 2018. On July 16, 2018, Smith signed a one-year, two way contract with the Sabres worth $874,125.

Smith began the following season with the Rochester Americans after being cut from the Sabres training camp. On January 8, 2019, Smith scored his first NHL goal in the second period against the New Jersey Devils.

As a free agent after five seasons within the Sabres organization, Smith was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 28, 2021.

On August 2, 2022, Smith was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers.

On November 20, 2023, Smith signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä of the Finnish Liiga.

In the following 2024–25 season, Smith moved to the Kontinental Hockey League, in joining Kazakh based club, Barys Astana on June 28, 2024. He made just 9 appearances with Barys, going scoreless, before opting to mutually terminate his contract. On January 20, 2025, Adler Mannheim of the German Ice Hockey League announced it had signed Smith to a try-out contract.

His try-out with Mannheim ended after Smith opted to return to North America and sign a contract for the remainder of the season with the Charlotte Checkers, the primary affiliate to the Florida Panthers, on January 24, 2025.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2010–11 Academy of Holy Angels USHS 25 17 20 37 18 1 0 0 0 10 2011–12 Austin Bruins NAHL 53 13 14 27 20 — — — — — 2012–13 Austin Bruins NAHL 60 30 29 59 22 8 4 1 5 4 2013–14 Muskegon Lumberjacks USHL 13 4 1 5 6 — — — — — 2013–14 Chicago Steel USHL 46 23 17 40 10 — — — — — 2014–15 UMass-Lowell HE 39 16 19 35 28 — — — — — 2015–16 UMass-Lowell HE 40 17 22 39 50 — — — — — 2016–17 UMass-Lowell HE 41 23 28 51 46 — — — — — 2016–17 Buffalo Sabres NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2017–18 Rochester Americans AHL 57 17 27 44 16 3 0 2 2 0 2018–19 Rochester Americans AHL 62 28 30 58 26 3 1 1 2 0 2018–19 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 2 0 2 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 50 12 15 27 18 — — — — — 2020–21 Rochester Americans AHL 15 4 9 13 6 — — — — — 2020–21 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Chicago Wolves AHL 60 24 34 58 18 16 3 6 9 4 2021–22 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 21 4 2 6 6 — — — — — 2023–24 JYP Jyväskylä Liiga 33 8 12 20 10 — — — — — 2024–25 Barys Astana KHL 9 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2024–25 Charlotte Checkers AHL 33 6 16 22 10 14 1 3 4 10 2025–26 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 17 0 8 8 8 — — — — — NHL totals 15 2 1 3 0 — — — — —

Awards and honors Award Year College HE All-Rookie Team 2015 HE All-Tournament Team 2016, 2017 HE Honorable Mention All-Star Team 2017 HE Tournament MVP 2017 AHL All-Star Game 2017–18