Introduction
Craig Smith (born September 5, 1989) is an American ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Nashville Predators in the NHL. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Smith played major junior hockey in the United States Hockey League with the Waterloo Black Hawks. He was named to the USHL First All-Star Team for the 2008–09 season.
Smith participated at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team. He then went on to play two years for the University of Wisconsin.
After coming out of college early, Smith became the first player since Colin Wilson to make the Predators without first playing for the Milwaukee Admirals. On October 7, 2011, Smith scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game against Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Following the 2014–15 NHL season Smith became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Predators made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Smith filed for Salary Arbitration. Prior to his scheduled meeting, Smith agreed to terms on a five-year $21.25 million contract extension with the Predators on July 20, 2015.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 45 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 58 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 90 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 54 | 28 | 48 | 76 | 108 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | ||
| 2009–10 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 72 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | KalPa | SM-l | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 44 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 79 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 78 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 30 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 79 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 76 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 592 | 144 | 155 | 299 | 230 | 48 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | United States | WJAC | 
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | United States | WC | 8th | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2012 | United States | WC | 7th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2013 | United States | WC | 
|
10 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | |
| 2014 | United States | WC | 6th | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | |
| Senior totals | 29 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 34 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2009 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2009 | |
| College | ||
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2010 | |