By John Lachmann
Kypostsports@yahoo.com
OXFORD, Ohio
– Enrico Blasi was disappointed when current Detroit Red Wings
defenseman Brendan Smith chose to play hockey at the University of
Wisconsin instead of Miami.
But the relationship the RedHawks’
coach built with the Smith family paid dividends when the youngest
brother – Reilly – picked his college.
The Mimico, Ontario,
native decided to come to Miami instead of following his older brother,
and he has been terrorizing opponents’ goalies since.
“When the
brother chose to go to Wisconsin it was pretty disappointing for all of
us,” Blasi said. “But we had an opportunity to get Reilly and we were
obviously extremely excited that he chose Miami, and he’s developed into
not only a pretty good player but a very mature young man off and on
the ice.”
Smith played in a bantam tournament here and fell in love with the school and the city.
“It
was really everything,” Smith said. “I love the culture, I love the fan
base, I love the atmosphere that fuels the hockey team.”
Mimico
is a small Toronto suburb that is the hometown of Brendan Shanahan, and
Smith’s house is two blocks from where current Blackhawks forward Dave
Bolland grew up.
Smith learned to skate by age four, and he began
playing organized hockey shortly after. His father made the decision
that he would play hockey his first year, but it was Smith’s choice each
subsequent season.
Smith grew up surrounded by athletes. His
oldest brother, Rory, played pro hockey briefly before pursuing a career
in the National Lacrosse League. He currently plays for the Colorado
Mammoth and was named to this season’s West All-Star Team, leading the
NLL in forced turnovers.
Their father, Lester, was a gifted basketball player who was the captain of his college team.
Reilly
also considered a career in lacrosse, and his first season of juniors
at St. Michael’s may have pushed him further in that direction. He was
scratched for all but 13 games, and he finished with two goals and seven
assists.
However, that season holds special meaning for Smith.
All three Smith boys played for St. Michael’s, but 2007-08 was the only
time Reilly was teammates with one of his brothers, as he joined Rory
for that campaign.
“That was great being able to play with one of
(my brothers) because I’ve never played in an organized league with
them before,” Smith said. “With it being my first year in the league and
him being a veteran in the league really helped the transition for me.”
Smith
hit his offensive stride the following season, notching 27 goals and 48
assists in 49 games for St. Michael’s in 2008-09, and he was drafted in
the third round by the Dallas Stars, a team he rooted for growing up,
the following summer.
In a move that bucked traditional Ontario thinking, Smith chose the U.S. college route over Canadian junior hockey.
“If
I went major junior they’d probably work on just the offensive aspects
(of my game),” Smith said. “That’s one reason why I wanted to come to
college and more specifically Miami because of the style of game that we
play.”
Wisconsin was a school Smith strongly considered, but he
would not have been able to join the team right away and Miami had a
spot open for him immediately.
“(Wisconsin) was one of the front
runners in my decision to go the college route,” Smith said. “I was
recruited pretty heavily by Wisconsin, and talking to my brother, he
didn’t think he was going to stay all four years there, and I think they
only had a spot open for 2010. So if I was going to go there I wouldn’t
have been able to play with him. And I wanted to come to Miami anyway,
so it worked out perfectly I think.”
Smith came to Miami in the
fall of 2009, just months after the RedHawks’ loss to Boston University
in the national championship game.
“The expectations were through
the roof,” Smith said. “Even though (Miami) lost in that championship
game, it probably worked out for the better in the last few years
because it’s given us a constant drive to work for something, with that
one goal that we haven’t reached.”
Once in Oxford, Smith met fellow Canadian forward Curtis McKenzie, who was also a freshman Stars’ draftee.
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