Scott Smith

Scott Smith (born November 27, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey executive, who worked for Hockey Canada from 1995 until 2022. He served as vice-president and chief operating officer (COO) from 2007 to 2016, as president and COO from 2016 to 2022, and as president and chief executive officer in 2022. Smith oversaw growth business operations for Hockey Canada, managed International Ice Hockey Federation competitions, and negotiated public–private partnerships, and television deals. He resigned in October 2022, amid calls for leadership change due to the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal.

Early life Smith was born November 27, 1966, in Bathurst, New Brunswick. He graduated from Bathurst High School in 1984. He completed an education degree at the University of New Brunswick in 1988. He served as an assistant coach for the UNB Varsity Reds during the 1994–95 season, and was an instructor for coaching and player development. The change coincided with the retirement of Murray Costello, and Bob Nicholson becoming president. In 2003, Smith was named by The Globe and Mail in its 40-under-40 list.

Smith's management and marketing of international events was cited by the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a reason for the growth of Hockey Canada. His planning of programs has created profit margins, and increased television ratings. The program includes equipment for new players to the game, and a six-week program to learn the game. Smith said that Hockey Canada wants "to keep up to the highest standards of transparency", and work with labour rights groups, including the Worker Rights Consortium and the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production."

President Prior to becoming COO of Hockey Canada, Smith was not well known outside of hockey, and seemed to be an internal replacement for Nicholson when the latter retired in July 2014. Smith was considered for the presidency when Tom Renney was hired instead. On December 29, 2016, Hockey Canada announced that Smith would replace Renney as president on July 1, 2017. Smith kept his role as COO, while Renney remained as CEO. He also believed that Hockey Canada's existing coaching, officiating, and respect in sport programs are top notch. He also began a floorball program, and distributing children's literature to reach out to newer Canadians and ethnic communities, in attempt to have hockey teams reflect the multiculturalism in Canada. Smith said that the Toronto market was saturated by other events such as the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the NHL Centennial Classic, the 104th Grey Cup, the MLS Cup 2016, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, and the playoff success of the Toronto Raptors, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Ticket sales in Montreal struggled, despite prices being lowered by 30% in 2017 compared to 2015, and a marketing change to sell more individual games, and fewer package deals. The deal included a set donation per goal scored by teams at those events, which is reinvested in the host communities as a legacy program.

On July 1, 2022, Smith succeeded Renney as chief executive officer of Hockey Canada while retaining the position of president.

In July 2022, Smith testified at a probe by the Department of Canadian Heritage committee into Hockey Canada's handling of sexual assault allegations in 2018, and whether to remove the freeze on funding by the government to Hockey Canada. Smith stated that Hockey Canada paid to settle 21 cases of alleged sexual assault since 1989, including the use of a fund supplied by player registration fees. He dismissed calls by the committee for him to resign, and wished to resolve the issue. He also released a 19-page document which outlined an action plan to address the concerns of the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal, and to change the culture within hockey.

Amid calls for leadership change due to the scandal, the board of directors and Smith resigned from Hockey Canada on October 11, 2022. Nine months later, his replacement was announced as Katherine Henderson, the first female president of Hockey Canada.

Personal life As of 2018, Smith resides in Calgary with his wife, Karen. He has one son, who grew up playing hockey. Smith has family in the Bathurst area, and a summer cottage on Chaleur Bay. He considers himself fortunate to have a career in hockey, and is grateful for its experiences, highlighted by the gold medals won by the men's and women's ice hockey teams at the Winter Olympic Games from 2002 to 2014.