Craig Smith (ice hockey)
Craig Smith ( born September 5, 1989 in Madison, Wisconsin ) is an American professional ice hockey player on the position of the center, which is since July 2011 the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League contract.
- 3.1 International
Career
Smith began his career in 2006 at the Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League. There he spent three years active and won with the Blackhawks in 2007, the Anderson Cup as the best team in the regular season. He reached 18 points scorer in 45 games in his rookie year. In the following years he increased his offensive production with 23 points in 2008 to 76 in 2008/ 09 season. This earned him an invitation to the next USHL All-Star Game and the call to the USHL First All -Star Team. In addition, he was selected in June 2009 in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Drafts to 98th from the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. For the 2009/10 season, the striker moved to college and played until end of season for 2010/11 for the University of Wisconsin -Madison in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, one of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division. There he was active in his last season as team captain. In July 2011, Smith signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators.
Internationally
Smith represented his native country for the first time at the World Championship 2011 in Slovakia. There he was with Chris Kreider one of two college players in the squad of Americans. In his first world use in the encounter against Austria on 30 April 2011 Smith was successful with a gate.
At the World Championships in 2013 in Stockholm and Helsinki, he was again part of the national team and won the bronze medal with this. He was also with 10 assists best assist provider of the tournament.
Awards and achievements
- 2009 USHL All-Star Game
- 2009 USHL First All -Star Team
- 2010 WCHA All- Rookie Team
- 2012 NHL All-Star Game Super Skills Competition
- 2013 bronze medal at the World Championships
- 2013 Best original donor of the World Cup
Career Stats
Internationally
Represented the U.S. at:
- World Cup 2011
- World Cup 2012
- World Cup 2013
( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )