Cole Smith (ice hockey)
# Cole Smith (ice hockey)

Cole Smith (born October 28, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Early life

Smith was born in Brainerd, Minnesota. He played junior hockey in Canada with the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League before joining the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in 2016. In his senior year of college hockey (2019–2020), Smith was a key component of a Fighting Hawks team that posted the top regular season record in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) but was unable to compete for the conference and national championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith was named as a finalist for the NCHC's top defensive forward award.

## Career

Upon leaving the University of North Dakota, Smith signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators on March 19, 2020, but did not see any action during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. He played five games with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL in December 2020 before joining the Predators' training camp for the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season. He was named to the Predators' "taxi squad" but then recalled to the active roster for the start of the season, making his NHL debut on January 14, 2021, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On January 21, 2023, Smith scored his first career goal in a game against the Los Angeles Kings.

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2011–12 | Brainerd High | USHS | 25 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | Brainerd High | USHS | 24 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 53 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | Brainerd High | USHS | 23 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 50 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014–15 | Steinbach Pistons | MJHL | 38 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | Steinbach Pistons | MJHL | 54 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 45 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 16 |
| 2016–17 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 29 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 37 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 37 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 34 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 59 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 62 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 69 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 78 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — |
