C. J. Smith (ice hockey)

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C. J. Smith (ice hockey) - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

C. J. Smith
Smith at the 2018 AHL All-Star Game
Born	(1994-12-01) December 1, 1994 (age 30) Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Left
KHL team Former teams	Barys Astana Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes JYP Jyväskylä
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2017–present

Connor Jeffrey Smith (born December 1, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

Amateur

Smith grew up playing hockey in Des Moines before moving with his family to Minnesota when he was 14.^[1] He played college hockey for UMass Lowell of Hockey East for three seasons while majoring in chemistry.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

In his sophomore year, Smith was named to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team and won the River Hawks leading scorer award.^[2] He recorded his first career hat trick in an 8–1 win over Arizona State on January 30, 2016.^[5] 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.^[2] UMass lost in the Championship match against Northeastern 3–2.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] On July 16, 2018, Smith signed a one-year, two way contract with the Sabres worth $874,125.^[13]

Smith began the following season with the Rochester Americans after being cut from the Sabres training camp.^[14] On January 8, 2019, Smith scored his first NHL goal in the second period against the New Jersey Devils.^[15]

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.^[16]

On August 2, 2022, Smith was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers.^[17]

On November 20, 2023, Smith signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä of the Finnish Liiga.^[18]

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	—	—	—	—	—
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	^[12]
Calder Cup champion	2022	^[19]

References

^ "C.J. Smith, central Iowa's first NHL goal-scorer, hopes to take his pro game another step further".
^ ^a ^b ^c "C.J. SMITH". goriverhawks.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "C.J. SMITH NAMED TO HOCKEY EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM". goriverhawks.com. March 28, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "RIVER HAWKS NAME ZACK KAMRASS AND C.J. SMITH TEAM MVP'S". goriverhawks.com. April 21, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "C.J. Smith's hat trick propels Lowell to sweep of Arizona State". uscho.com. January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ Kyle Gaudette (March 20, 2016). "Scalding Northeastern wins Hockey East Championship over UMass Lowell". The UMass-Lowell Connector. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "THREE RIVER HAWKS NAMED SEMIFINALISTS FOR THE WALTER BROWN AWARD". goriverhawks.com. February 6, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "WEEKLY RELEASE: UMASS LOWELL CLAIMS THIRD HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TITLE". hockeyeastonline.com. March 20, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "C.J. SMITH SIGNS WITH THE BUFFALO SABRES". goriverhawks.com. March 29, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "Smith earns point in debut as Sabres fall to Isles". Buffalo Sabres. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
^ @PR_NHL (April 2, 2017). "Per @EliasSports: C.J. Smith is the second Iowa-born player to appear in an NHL game, joining goaltender Scott Clemmensen (191 GP)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ ^a ^b "SMITH, ULLMARK NAMED TO AHL ALL-STAR ROSTER". amerks.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "Sabres, C.J. Smith agree to one-year contract". sportsnet.ca. July 16, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ Harrington, Mike (September 26, 2018). "Oglevie, Smith among latest cuts to Sabres' roster". Buffalo News. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ Jourdon LaBarber (January 8, 2019). "Pilut, Smith help fuel 5-goal 2nd period in win over Devils". NHL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "Canes agree to terms with C.J. Smith". Carolina Hurricanes. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^ "Rangers agree to terms with C.J. Smith". New York Rangers. August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
^ "JYP vahvistuu kovan luokan yhdysvaltalaishyökkääjällä". jypliiga.fi (in Finnish). November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "Chicago is Calder City again". American Hockey League. June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database