Nathan Smith (ice hockey, born 1998)

Did You Know?

• He contributed 1 goal and 2 points in 4 games at the Olympics, where Team USA finished fifth.
• Smith was a prime target for the national team during his standout junior collegiate season.

Playing career

Smith grew up in Florida, initially playing roller hockey before switching to ice hockey at age 10 with the Tampa Scorpions youth program. He became a high-scoring forward in junior hockey, leading the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders for two consecutive years. Although selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2018 NHL Draft, he remained in juniors for another year before starting college. He debuted for Minnesota State in 2019, providing second-line scoring for a team that was ranked number one for a time. The Mavericks entered the postseason as a favorite for a national title, but the COVID-19 pandemic ended their season abruptly.

After his freshman year was canceled, Smith's sophomore season was delayed by over a month. He finished second on the team in scoring. In the Mavericks' first NCAA Tournament game, they trailed 1–3 with under ten minutes left; Smith scored to cut the lead in half, sparking a comeback that gave the program its first Division I tournament win. He scored a goal in a 4–0 win over Minnesota and added two power-play goals against St. Cloud State in the national semifinal, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

In his junior season of 2021–22, Smith began scoring in bunches and led the nation in scoring by the end of December. He finished second in league-wide scoring with 19 goals and 50 points in 38 games, helped the Mavericks reach the Frozen Four championship game against the University of Denver, and was a Hobey Baker top 10 finalist. On March 21, 2022, his NHL rights were traded by the Jets, along with Bryan Little's contract, to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 fourth-round draft pick. After his junior season, he signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Coyotes on April 11, 2022. He made his NHL debut the next day against the New Jersey Devils, registered his first NHL point assisting a Nick Ritchie goal on April 19, and scored his first NHL goal on April 20 against Kevin Lankinen. He finished the season with Arizona playing ten games, scoring two goals and four points.