Dalton Smith

Dalton Smith (born June 30, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). Smith was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2nd round (34th overall) of the 2010 NHL entry draft.

Playing career Smith played four seasons (2008–2012) of major junior hockey with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), scoring 50 goals and 55 assists for 105 points, and earning 328 penalty minutes, over 196 games.

On August 8, 2011, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed Smith to a three-year entry-level contract.

At the 2013–14 trade deadline, the Blue Jackets traded Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Dana Tyrell and Matt Taormina on 5 March 2014.

Smith spent the 2014–15 season with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. When Smith's contract was not renewed, he accepted a try-out contract with the Providence Bruins of the AHL on October 3, 2015.

Failing to catch on in Providence, Smith was signed to a one-year contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He played 11 games with the Phantoms. After not being resigned by the Phantoms Smith attended the training camp of the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Smith belatedly signed a one-year contract with Charlotte near the start of the 2016–17 season, moving down one tier to their ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, on 9 October 2016.

After playing out the season with the Everblades, recording a professional high 23 points in 60 games, Smith as a free agent the following summer attended the Rochester Americans 2017 training camp on September 25, 2017.

During the 2019–20 season, his 8th professional year, on December 30, 2019, Smith signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Americans' parent NHL club, the Buffalo Sabres. He was recalled to make his long-awaited NHL debut with the Sabres against the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 31, 2019, registering 2 penalty minutes in 1:26 of ice-time in a 6–4 defeat. He was placed on waivers to return to Rochester on 2 January 2020.

At the conclusion of his contract, Smith was not extended by the Sabres and as a free agent opted to remain within the organization, continuing his tenure in the AHL with the Americans on a one-year deal on October 12, 2020.

On July 29, 2021, Smith left Rochester after four seasons and signed to add a veteran presence on a one-year contract with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Smith enjoyed his most productive season in the AHL since 2015 during the 2021–22 season, collecting 5 goals and 11 points in 52 regular season games.

On June 28, 2022, Smith agreed to a two-year contract extension to remain with the Eagles.

Following three seasons within the Eagles organization, Smith left as a free agent and was belatedly signed to a one-year contract with reigning AHL champions, the Hershey Bears, on October 15, 2024.

Personal life Smith’s younger brother Blake also plays professional ice hockey.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2008–09 Whitby Fury OJHL 40 10 13 23 109 — — — — — 2008–09 Ottawa 67's OHL 17 2 5 7 8 7 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Ottawa 67's OHL 62 21 23 44 129 12 3 3 6 27 2010–11 Ottawa 67's OHL 64 12 17 29 124 4 2 2 4 12 2011–12 Ottawa 67's OHL 53 15 10 25 67 18 4 4 8 46 2012–13 Springfield Falcons AHL 67 3 6 9 128 1 0 0 0 12 2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL 50 4 5 9 99 — — — — — 2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 19 2 1 3 51 — — — — — 2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 62 11 6 17 79 2 0 0 0 4 2015–16 Providence Bruins AHL 17 1 0 1 24 — — — — — 2015–16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 11 1 0 1 25 — — — — — 2016–17 Florida Everblades ECHL 60 10 13 23 153 11 3 0 3 22 2017–18 Rochester Americans AHL 45 1 1 2 102 — — — — — 2018–19 Rochester Americans AHL 48 2 6 8 111 3 0 0 0 2 2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 42 1 4 5 63 — — — — — 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2020–21 Rochester Americans AHL 22 1 0 1 45 — — — — — 2021–22 Colorado Eagles AHL 52 5 6 11 59 5 0 0 0 11 2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 6 0 0 0 32 — — — — — 2023–24 Colorado Eagles AHL 49 1 4 5 99 — — — — — 2024–25 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 3 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2024–25 Hershey Bears AHL 30 2 5 7 51 1 0 0 0 0 2025–26 Hershey Bears AHL 60 2 4 6 85 3 0 0 0 5 NHL totals 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —