SMITH LIKES NEW TEAM, NEW SURROUNDINGS
Oct 22, 2015By Tom Witosky | Follow @toskyAHLWild
Jeremy Smith knew something was up.
When he cleared waivers with the Boston Bruins after training camp this summer, Smith wondered why he hadn’t been assigned immediately to return for another season with the Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence.
“That was kind of a red flag in my mind that something was going on,” Smith, a five-year veteran AHL with Milwaukee, Springfield and Providence, remembered recently.
It didn’t take him long to find out what was going on. “I got a call to go to the rink and was told I had been loaned to Iowa,” he said. “To say the least, that wasn’t something I was expecting.”
Boston’s decision to loan Smith to Iowa was made under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, but isn’t used often. Boston continues to hold Smith’s playing rights, but he could end-up playing the entire AHL season with Iowa.
Despite the surprise, the 26-year-old Dearborn, MI native couldn’t be happier with the new team and the new location.
“This is an unbelievable organization and it is a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I am not under contract with them, but they open their doors, they allow me to play with their team and develop as a player.”
As for Des Moines, Smith, an avid fisherman, said, “It reminds me a lot of home. It has that kind of homey feel to it.”
Smith’s move to Des Moines was engineered by the Minnesota front office, which decided not to hasten the development of rookie goalies Brody Hoffman and Steven Michalek. Both are now with the Quad City Mallards in the ECHL while Smith and veteran Leland Irving have turned in good performances, according to John Torchetti, Iowa’s head coach.
“We are very happy with our tandem because they’ve been keeping us in games,” he said. “Both goalies have been very competitive in practice and do make it hard for our guys to score in practice.”
Of Smith, Torchetti said, there is a competitiveness that doesn’t stop.
“It tells you a lot about the kid’s character,” Torchetti said. “It just takes watching him for one period and you can see the character that he has. He is highly competitive kid.”
Plus, there is a record of accomplishment that Torchetti wants to continue. During three full seasons with Milwaukee followed by single seasons with Springfield and Providence, each team made it to the Calder Cup playoffs with Smith in the net.
Overall, the netminder’s AHL record going into this season was 109-71-15 in 204 regular season games with a career 2.41 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. With Providence last season, Smith built a 22-11-5 record with a 2.05 GAA and a .933 save percentage.
As a result, Boston signed him this summer to a one-year, two-way contract before loaning him to Iowa.
“I haven’t missed a playoff yet,” he said, adding he believes strongly Iowa can get back into the playoffs. “We have a lot of young players, but as the season goes on I hope we can grow and develop into the team that has the will and want to win. Not saying we don’t have it right now, but to get to the top of the leaderboard, you have to follow the process.”
Asked what is essential to having a successful season, Smith said simply, “the will to win.”
“It is the comradery that has to be there,” Nashville’s second round draft choice in 2007 said.
“When a team succeeds, then the individual succeeds and reaps the rewards from that.”
Smith said his competitive streak comes from being the middle son of three boys. He said that competition among the brothers was constant.
“They are the reason why I am so competitive,” he said. “It was a very competitive atmosphere growing up playing baseball and hockey.”
Smith’s start with Iowa has been a bit rocky with three losses and a shootout loss, but that is to be expected given his short time with Iowa.
Torchetti attributed the rocky start with an inability to get more shots on goal not so much as defensive shortcomings. “We just have to score more goals,” he said.
Plus Smith, who arrived in Iowa just two days before the start of the AHL season, has to learn a new system as quickly as possible.
“It’s a completely different system. So I have had to dive right in into understanding the way their system plays and how my game fits into it,” he said.
One of the first adjustments was to learn the new club’s language.
“Yes, there are different calls and different plays to make,” he said. “When you are with a team for while it becomes second nature to you, but when with a new team you really have to think what’s the proper play here.”
Smith added he is optimistic about the season and just happy to playing for a good organization.
“There are going to be growing pains, but hopefully we are going to overcome them,” he said. “But I am fortunate and lucky enough to play the sport I love as a job.”