Casey DeSmith

Casey DeSmith, born August 13, 1991, is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Dallas Stars in the NHL. He owns the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins franchise record for most saves in a playoff game. In the AHL, he earned a spot on the 2016–17 All-Rookie Team and shared the 2017 Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award.

DeSmith went undrafted and was considered undersized for a goaltender. After his college career at the University of New Hampshire ended due to legal trouble, he signed with the Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2015. He performed well in Wheeling and also during a loan to the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins later that season, which led to an AHL contract in the summer of 2016.

Following a league-best statistical season in the AHL in 2016–17, DeSmith signed with Pittsburgh in July 2017. He spent five of the next six seasons with the NHL club, initially competing with Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray for playing time. He played the 2019–20 season in the AHL. After Murray was traded in 2020, DeSmith became a permanent part of the Penguins' goaltending rotation. Involved in two trades during the 2023 off-season, he played for the Vancouver Canucks in 2023–24, then signed with the Stars after his contract ended.

DeSmith played junior hockey in the NEPSAC league for Berwick Academy from 2006 to 2008. After a season with Deerfield Academy, he joined the Indiana Ice of the USHL, where he posted a .911 save percentage, a 2.80 GAA, and three shutouts in 64 regular-season games.

He studied business at the University of New Hampshire and played for the Wildcats from 2011 to 2014. In his first season, he went 9–10–1, earned his first college shutout on January 11, 2011, and finished with a 2.33 GAA and a .926 save percentage. He recorded 30 or more saves ten times that season. He was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for the week of January 11 and Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the week of February 6. He was also twice honored as Service Credit Union Student-Athlete of the Week. He made a career-high 50 saves in the Hockey East quarterfinals against Boston University on March 11, 2012, and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team at season's end.

In September 2014, DeSmith was arrested for assaulting a woman who was or had been his girlfriend. He was immediately suspended from the University of New Hampshire team and later permanently dismissed. On December 4, 2014, he accepted a plea bargain, pleading not guilty to all charges except a single count of disorderly conduct, which under New Hampshire law is a violation, not a misdemeanor. He received a $124 fine and 12 months of probation, and signed a diversion agreement requiring community service; after 12 months, all charges were formally dismissed. He met the terms and stayed out of further trouble. He was never reinstated as a Wildcat player but remained enrolled as a student, and he did not play anywhere else that season. He applied for a waiver to transfer to another school, but the NCAA denied his request, though several other schools expressed interest.

On June 30, 2015, after the NCAA denied his transfer waiver, DeSmith signed a contract for the 2015–16 season with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers. He would have been ineligible to play college hockey after that season due to NCAA eligibility rules. He appeared in 13 games with the Nailers' Eastern Conference championship team, posting a 5–2–2 record, a 2.55 GAA, and a .915 save percentage. On January 3, 2016, he was loaned to the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

He played his first game for them on December 26, 2015, stopping all seven shots he faced in 20 minutes. He earned his first AHL start win on January 3, stopping 22 of 24 shots against the Hartford Wolf Pack. He got his first shutout on April 1, 2017, making 26 saves against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He started the final three games of the 2015–16 AHL season, winning all three with a .950 save percentage.

He won his first professional playoff game on April 20, 2016, against the Providence Bruins. Three days later, he set the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton record for most saves in a playoff game, facing 59 shots in a double-overtime win that clinched the Penguins' fourth division crown. The Penguins ultimately lost to the Hershey Bears.

On July 5, 2016, DeSmith signed directly with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He played 29 games for them in 2016–17, finishing the regular season atop the AHL with a 2.01 GAA and a .926 save percentage. He started all five playoff games for the Penguins after partner Tristan Jarry was called up to Pittsburgh during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.