Givani Smith (born February 27, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Givani Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 27, 1998 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers San Jose Sharks | ||
| NHL draft |
46th overall, 2016 Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||
Playing career
editBefore turning professional, Smith played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. In 236 games between the Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, and Kitchener Rangers, he recorded 73 goals, 62 assists, and 411 penalty minutes. He led the league in penalty minutes in 2015–16 and 2016–17. During the 2018–19 season in his rookie year, he recorded six goals and seven assists in 64 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL).
On October 25, 2019, Smith was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings. Before being recalled he recorded two goals and two assists in four games for the Griffins.[1] He made his NHL debut for the Red Wings later that night in a game against the Buffalo Sabres where he recorded two shots on goal and one hit in 11:01 time on ice.[2] Smith was assigned to the Griffins on October 30. He appeared in three games for the Red Wings, where he recorded four shots on goal and three hits in 10:32 average time on ice per game.[3] On December 31, 2019, Smith was again recalled by the Red Wings. Before being recalled he recorded four goals and nine assists in 22 games with the Griffins.[4] On January 14, 2020, Smith scored his first career NHL goal against Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders.[5] On February 16, 2021, Smith was reassigned to the Griffins. Before being reassigned he recorded one goal and three assists, 11 penalty minutes, 10 shots on goal and 15 hits in 9:55 average time on ice in eight games for the Red Wings.[6]
On December 19, 2022, the Red Wings traded Smith to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Michael Del Zotto. Before being traded, he recorded two goals and three assists in 19 games for the Griffins during the 2022–23 season. He also appeared in two games for the Red Wings.[7]
On July 1, 2023, Smith left the Panthers as a free agent and was signed by the San Jose Sharks to a two-year, $1.6 million contract, beginning in the 2023–24 season.[8] He scored his first goal for the Sharks on November 16 against the St. Louis Blues, and in the process became the 300th Shark to score a goal for the franchise.[9] Remaining on the Sharks roster for the entirety of the season, Smith made 36 appearances, matching a seasons best of 3 assists for the fourth time in his career.
In the following 2024–25 season, Smith began the season primarily serving as a healthy scratch for the Sharks. Featuring in just 6 games through the first quarter of the season, Smith was placed on waivers on December 8, 2024. Upon clearing waivers, Smith was included in a trade by the Sharks to the Colorado Avalanche on December 9, 2024. The Avalanche received Smith, Mackenzie Blackwood and a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a conditional fifth-round 2025 pick, and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft.[10][11] He made his debut the following day in a fourth-line role, helping the Avalanche to a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[12]
Personal life
editSmith is of Jamaican descent.[13] He is the younger brother of NHL player Gemel Smith.[14]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Mississauga Senators | GTMMHL | 26 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 71 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 31 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 56 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 65 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 146 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 64 | 26 | 18 | 44 | 139 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Guelph Storm | OHL | 19 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 27 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 22 | ||
| 2018–19 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 64 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 86 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 2019–20 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 37 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 21 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 25 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 46 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 108 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 36 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 161 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 260 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Canada Red | U17 | 6th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Red Wings Recall Givani Smith". griffinshockey.com. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ Kulfan, Ted (October 25, 2019). "Red Wings' Givani Smith excited about making his NHL debut Friday at LCA". Detroitnews.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 30, 2019). "Red Wings assign Smith to Griffins". NHL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Kujawa, Kyle (December 31, 2019). "Detroit recalls Smith from Grand Rapids". NHL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ Wakiji, Dana (January 14, 2020). "Smith gets first NHL goal in loss to Islanders". NHL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Kujawa, Kyle (February 16, 2021). "Givani Smith reassigned to Griffins". NHL.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Florida Panthers Acquire Forward Givani Smith from Detroit Red Wings". NHL.com. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Sharks Sign Forward Givani Smith". NHL.com. San Jose Sharks. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ Goldman, Chelena (November 16, 2023). "Kahkonen makes 44 saves, Sharks cruise past Blues to end 3-game skid".
- ^ "Avalanche acquire Blackwood from Sharks for Georgiev, Kovalenko, and draft picks". The Sports Network. December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ "Avalanche Acquire Blackwood, Smith From San Jose". Colorado Avalanche. December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ "Rantanen records hat trick, two assists in 600th game as Avs blast Penguins". The Sports Network. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ "For Gemel Smith mental strength goes a long way when dealing with racism in hockey". theupsetsports.com.
- ^ Kennedy, Ryan (August 25, 2016). "Detroit Red Wings Have a "Tank" in Prospect Givani Smith". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database