Donald John Smith (June 3, 1887[1] – May 13, 1959) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Smith was one of the earliest professional ice hockey players, playing professionally in the first decade of the 1900s. Smith played in the National Hockey League and its predecessor National Hockey Association for the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Wanderers and Renfrew Creamery Kings.
| Don Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Don Smith with the Renfrew Creamery Kings | |||
| Born | June 3, 1887 Cornwall, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died | May 13, 1959 (aged 71) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Montreal Shamrocks Renfrew Creamery Kings Montreal Canadiens Montreal Wanderers | ||
| Playing career | 1904–1920 | ||
He was an older brother of ice hockey and lacrosse player Guy Smith.
Playing career
edit
Smith played senior amateur hockey for his hometown Cornwall, Ontario club in the Federal Amateur Hockey League from 1904 until 1907. During a March 6, 1907 FAHL game between Cornwall H/C and the Ottawa Victorias Smith's forward teammate Owen McCourt was struck in the head by one or several opponent sticks and died the following morning of his injuries.
Smith became a professional with Portage la Prairie, Manitoba of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) in 1907–08. He returned to Ontario the following season, playing for St. Catharines, Ontario and Toronto in the Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL). In 1909–10, he joined the Montreal Shamrocks of the National Hockey Association (NHA). He played in 1910–11 for the Renfrew Creamery Kings before joining the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for a season. He returned the following season (1912–13) to the Montreal Canadiens and played for the Canadiens until 1915 when he was sold to the Montreal Wanderers.[2]
Smith left the league after the 1915–16 NHA season to serve in World War I. Upon his return, in 1919–20, Smith re-joined the Montreal Canadiens, now in the National Hockey League (NHL), for one last year of professional ice hockey. He refereed and coached in ice hockey in later years.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1904–05 | Cornwall Hockey Club | FAHL | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1905–06 | Cornwall Hockey Club | FAHL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1906–07 | Cornwall Hockey Club | FAHL | 9 | 16 | 0 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1907–08 | Portage la Prairie Cities | MPHL | 14 | 19 | 0 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1908–09 | St. Catharines Pros | OPHL | 6 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1908–09 | Toronto Professionals | OPHL | 8 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1909–10 | Montreal ACB | MCHL | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1909–10 | Montreal Shamrocks | CHA | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1909–10 | Montreal Shamrocks | NHA | 12 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1910–11 | Renfrew Creamery Kings | NHA | 16 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1911–12 | Victoria Senators | PCHA | 16 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1912–13 | Montreal Canadiens | NHA | 20 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1913–14 | Montreal Canadiens | NHA | 20 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1914–15 | Montreal Canadiens | NHA | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1914–15 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1915–16 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 23 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHA totals | 110 | 97 | 20 | 117 | 272 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | ||||
| NHL totals | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Transactions
edit- Signed as a free agent by St. Catharines (OPHL), December 8, 1908.
- Signed as a free agent by Toronto (OPHL) after St. Catharines (OPHL) folded, January 22, 1909.
- Signed as a free agent by Trenton (EOPHL), December 22, 1910.
- Signed by Renfrew (NHA) after jumping contract with Trenton (EOPHL), December 27, 1910.
- Claimed by Montreal Wanderers (NHA) in Dispersal Draft of Renfrew (NHA) players, November 12, 1911.
- Signed by Victoria (PCHA) after jumping contract with Montreal Wanderers (NHA), December, 1911.
- Signed as a free agent by Montreal Canadiens (NHA), November 26, 1912.
- Traded to Montreal Wanderers by Montreal Canadiens for cash, February 2, 1915.
- Rights not retained by Montreal Wanderers after NHA folded, November 26, 1917.
- Signed as a free agent by Montreal, December 11, 1919.
- Source
- NHL.com[3]
References
edit- ^ His birth date is often listed in 1888. He listed Date of Birth as June 3, 1888, when he joined the military. Ontario's birth records show he was born one year earlier.
- ^ "Donald Smith with Wanderers" The Gazette (Montreal), February 2, 1915 (pg. 10).
- ^ "Players - National Hockey League.com". Retrieved July 8, 2015.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database