Don (Donald) John Smith (June 3, 1887 - May 13, 1959) was a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professionalA professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field...
hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
player who played for the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
,
Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
,
Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
and the
Renfrew Creamery KingsThe Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
.
Smith played senior amateur hockey for his hometown
Cornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
club in the
Federal Amateur Hockey LeagueThe Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was a professional league for its last two years and was known as the Federal Hockey League.-History:...
from 1904 until 1907. He became a professional with
Portage la Prairie, ManitobaPortage la Prairie is a city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2006, the population was 12,728. The area of the city was...
of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) in 1907-08. He returned to Ontario the following season, playing for
St. Catharines, OntarioSt. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
and
TorontoThe Toronto Professional Hockey Club was Toronto's first professional ice hockey team, founded in 1906. The team played the 1906–07 season in exhibition games against other professional teams. In 1908, they were founding members of Canada's first fully professional ice hockey league the Ontario...
in the
Ontario Professional Hockey LeagueThe Ontario Professional Hockey League , sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, and also known as the Canadian Hockey League in its time, was a professional ice hockey league in Canada. It was Canada's first fully professional league and consisted of teams from Toronto and surrounding...
(OPHL).
Don (Donald) John Smith (June 3, 1887 - May 13, 1959) was a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professionalA professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field...
hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
player who played for the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
,
Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
,
Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
and the
Renfrew Creamery KingsThe Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
.
Playing career
Smith played senior amateur hockey for his hometown
Cornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
club in the
Federal Amateur Hockey LeagueThe Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was a professional league for its last two years and was known as the Federal Hockey League.-History:...
from 1904 until 1907. He became a professional with
Portage la Prairie, ManitobaPortage la Prairie is a city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2006, the population was 12,728. The area of the city was...
of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) in 1907-08. He returned to Ontario the following season, playing for
St. Catharines, OntarioSt. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
and
TorontoThe Toronto Professional Hockey Club was Toronto's first professional ice hockey team, founded in 1906. The team played the 1906–07 season in exhibition games against other professional teams. In 1908, they were founding members of Canada's first fully professional ice hockey league the Ontario...
in the
Ontario Professional Hockey LeagueThe Ontario Professional Hockey League , sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, and also known as the Canadian Hockey League in its time, was a professional ice hockey league in Canada. It was Canada's first fully professional league and consisted of teams from Toronto and surrounding...
(OPHL). In 1909-10, he joined the
Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
of the
National Hockey AssociationThe National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
(NHA). He played in 1910-11 for
Renfrew Creamery KingsThe Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
before joining the Victoria Aristocrats of the
Pacific Coast Hockey AssociationThe Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
(PCHA) for a season. He returned the following season (1912–13) to the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and played for the Canadiens until 1915, when he was traded to the
Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
. Smith left the league at the conclusion of the 1915–16 NHA season to serve in
the warWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. Upon his return, in 1919–20, Smith re-joined the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, now in the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
, for one last year of professional hockey.
Transactions
- Signed as a free agent by St. Catharines (OPHL), December 8, 1908.
- Signed as a free agent by Toronto (OPHL) after St. Catharines (OPHL) folded, January 22, 1909.
- Signed as a free agent by Trenton (EOPHL), December 22, 1910.
- Signed by Renfrew (NHA) after jumping contract with Trenton (EOPHL), December 27, 1910.
- Claimed by Montreal Wanderers (NHA) in Dispersal Draft of Renfrew (NHA) players, November 12, 1911.
- Signed by Victoria (PCHA) after jumping contract with Montreal Wanderers (NHA), December , 1911.
- Signed as a free agent by Montreal Canadiens (NHA), November 26, 1912.
- Traded to Montreal Wanderers by Montreal Canadiens for cash, February 2, 1915.
- Rights not retained by Montreal Wanderers after NHA folded, November 26, 1917.
- Signed as a free agent by Montreal, December 11, 1919.
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