Jeremy Smith (ice hockey)

Jeremy Smith (born April 13, 1989), also known as Jieruimi Shimisi, is a Chinese-American professional ice hockey goaltender. Born in the United States, he is currently playing with HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Smith was selected in the second round, 54th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.[2]

Jeremy Smith
Smith with the Providence Bruins in 2015
Born (1989-04-13) April 13, 1989 (age 35)
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
KHL team
Former teams
Kunlun Red Star
Colorado Avalanche
National team  China
NHL draft 54th overall, 2007
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2009–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese傑瑞米·史密斯
Simplified Chinese杰瑞米·史密斯[1]
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJiéruìmǐ Shǐmìsī

Playing career

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Since turning professional in the 2009–10 season, Smith, while within the Predators organization, was shuffled between the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.[3][4]

On July 5, 2013, Smith signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets.[5] After attending the Blue Jackets training camp he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.

 
Smith during the 2015 pre-season with the Boston Bruins.

On July 2, 2014, Smith signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins.[6] Smith was sent down to Providence Bruins to be a call-up along with Malcolm Subban for the majority of the season.

On July 1, 2015, the Boston Bruins re-signed Smith to a one-year, two-way contract.[7] With Smith unable to earn the backup role and with the Bruins suffering a surplus of goaltenders in their system, he was assigned on loan to AHL affiliate club of the Minnesota Wild, the Iowa Wild, for the duration of the 2015–16 season on October 6, 2015.[8] On February 6, 2016, Providence's Malcolm Subban was hospitalized after taking a puck to the throat. With Subban ruled out for eight weeks due to this injury, Smith was recalled from his loan with the Iowa Wild to provide Providence with cover. In Subban's absence, Smith was a standout for Providence, posting 13 wins in 20 games and earning his first recall to the NHL, on an emergency basis, on April 9, 2016.[9] He was returned to the AHL for the post-season without featuring for the Bruins.

After the season, Smith left the Bruins organization as a free agent. On July 1, 2016, he signed a one-year, two-way contract to join the Colorado Avalanche.[10] Smith began the 2016–17 season in the AHL with affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. He was injured in his third game with the Rampage and missed two months of action before returning to post his first win with the Rampage in a 4–2 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on December 17, 2016.[11] On December 27, Smith was recalled by the Avalanche after an injury to starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov and backed up Calvin Pickard for five games before he was returned to the Rampage on January 5, 2017. With Varlamov suffering a season-ending injury, Smith was recalled on a second occasion on February 9, 2017.[12] He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche, making 37 saves in a 3–2 defeat to the New Jersey Devils on February 14, 2017.[13] In his third start with the Avalanche he received his first NHL win, making 34 saves in the team's 5–3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on February 25, 2017.[14]

As a free agent in the off-season, Smith left the Avalanche to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2017.[15] For the following 2017–18 season, Smith was unable to add to his NHL experience, assigned to the AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers for the duration of the campaign. In 30 games, Smith collected 13 wins and posted a goals against average of 2.71.

At the completion of his contract with the Hurricanes, Smith became a free agent and agreed to sign a one-year AHL contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on July 9, 2018.[16] In the following 2018–19 season, Smith had collected 16 wins through 32 games for the Sound Tigers before he was signed to a two-way contract by the New York Islanders for the remainder of the year on February 24, 2019.[17] In adding depth to the goaltending ranks of the playoff-bound Islanders, Smith would continue to play with their AHL affiliate.

On June 10, 2019, Smith as an impending free agent, signed his first contract abroad, agreeing to a two-year contract with Chinese outfit Kunlun Red Star of the KHL.[18]

International play

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Due to his stint in China, Smith was called up to represent the China men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[19] According to some sources, he became a Chinese citizen in order to be eligible to represent the nation at the Olympics.[20][21] Smith's teammate Jake Chelios confirmed that he kept his American citizenship but refused to answer whether he was a naturalized Chinese citizen. While the Olympic Charter stipulates that any athlete competing in the Games must be a national of the country of the NOC which is entering such competitor, the IOC Executive Board has the authority to make certain exceptions of a "general or individual nature", though it is unclear whether this was the case.[22]

During the games, the pinyin version of the Chinese transcription of Smith's name, Jieruimi Shimisi, was used for commentary and statistics records by the IOC.[23][24]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2005–06 Plymouth Whalers OHL 5 0 2 0 111 11 0 5.94 .845
2006–07 Plymouth Whalers OHL 34 23 6 1 1901 82 4 2.59 .923 3 2 0 149 8 0 3.22 .877
2007–08 Plymouth Whalers OHL 40 23 13 4 2431 116 3 2.86 .921 4 0 4 224 29 0 7.77 .821
2008–09 Plymouth Whalers OHL 17 3 9 2 901 72 0 4.79 .873
2008–09 Niagara IceDogs OHL 26 12 9 3 1488 79 1 3.18 .913 12 5 5 724 45 1 3.73 .915
2009–10 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 42 23 15 2 2468 108 2 2.63 .899 17 9 7 988 44 1 2.67 .907
2009–10 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0.00 1.000
2010–11 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 1 0 0 1 65 3 0 2.78 .900
2010–11 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 28 16 8 2 1513 57 2 2.26 .921 13 7 6 843 32 0 2.28 .931
2011–12 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 56 31 19 2 3284 119 5 2.17 .922 3 0 3 177 11 0 3.73 .866
2012–13 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 43 19 19 3 2471 114 1 2.77 .907
2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL 38 21 14 3 2179 101 1 2.78 .898
2014–15 Providence Bruins AHL 39 22 11 5 2278 78 3 2.05 .933 3 1 2 183 6 0 1.96 .931
2015–16 Iowa Wild AHL 23 5 14 4 1326 65 0 2.94 .911
2015–16 Providence Bruins AHL 20 13 5 2 1129 38 1 2.02 .934 3 0 3 180 8 0 2.66 .905
2016–17 San Antonio Rampage AHL 17 5 8 0 841 36 0 2.57 .911
2016–17 Colorado Avalanche NHL 10 1 6 1 546 32 0 3.52 .888
2017–18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 30 13 13 2 1618 73 0 2.71 .902 1 0 0 26 0 0 0.00 1.000
2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 43 21 13 4 2363 115 1 2.92 .902 1 0 1 57 2 0 2.09 .941
2019–20 Kunlun Red Star KHL 32 11 16 4 1846 81 3 2.63 .918
2020–21 Kunlun Red Star KHL 17 3 10 1 941 53 0 3.38 .906
2021–22 Kunlun Red Star KHL 25 4 18 2 1486 100 0 4.04 .898
2022–23 Kunlun Red Star KHL 36 10 24 2 2125 107 2 3.02 .914
2023–24 Kunlun Red Star KHL 31 9 17 3 1744 89 2 3.06 .922
NHL totals 10 1 6 1 546 32 0 3.52 .888
KHL totals 141 37 85 12 8,142 430 7 3.17 .912

International

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Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2008 United States WJC 4th 5 4 1 0 300 12 0 2.40 .894
2022 China OG 12th 3 0 2 0 139 13 0 5.63 .882
Junior totals 5 4 1 0 300 12 0 2.40 .894
Senior totals 3 0 2 0 139 13 0 5.63 .882

Awards and honors

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Award Year
OHL
Dave Pinkney Trophy (Shared with Michal Neuvirth) 2007 [25]
CHL Top Prospects Game 2007
ECHL
Playoff MVP (Shared with Robert Mayer) 2010 [25]
Kelly Cup (Cincinnati Cyclones) 2010

References

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  1. ^ "Shimisi JIERUIMI Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jeremy Smith prospect profile". hockeysfuture.com. February 3, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  3. ^ "Jeremy Smith reassigned to Cincinnati". sportsblubber.com. April 5, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010. [permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Ryan Jones Recalled by Nashville". Milwaukee Admirals. May 4, 2010. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  5. ^ "Blue Jackets sign Craig, Bass and Smith". Columbus Blue Jackets. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  6. ^ "Bruins sign Jeremy Smith". Boston Bruins. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  7. ^ "Bruins Sign Ryan Spooner To Two-Year Contract, Jeremy Smith To One-Year Deal". NESN. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  8. ^ "Bruins assign goaltender Jeremy Smith to Iowa Wild". Boston Bruins. October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  9. ^ "Bruins recall Jeremy Smith from Providence on Emergency basis". National Hockey League. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  10. ^ "Colorado inks eight to contracts". Colorado Avalanche. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  11. ^ "Rampage double up Roadrunners". American Hockey League. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  12. ^ "Jeremy Smith to make first NHL appearance in Avalanche net against Devils". Denver Post. February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  13. ^ "Devils defeat Avalanche in Jeremy Smith debut". Denver Post. February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "Jeremy Smith has 34 saves in Avalanche win over Sabres". Denver Post. February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  15. ^ "Canes agree to terms with Jeremy Smith". Carolina Hurricanes. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  16. ^ "Sound Tigers sign Jones, Bourque and Smith". Bridgeport Sound Tigers. July 9, 2018. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Islanders agree to terms with Jeremy Smith". New York Islanders. February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  18. ^ "Jeremy Smith signs two-year contract with Kunlun" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "China's Olympic hockey hopes rest on North American talent". sports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  20. ^ Ellingworth, Jake (February 8, 2022). "North American-born Chinese Olympians get their shot at gold — including Chris Chelios' son Jake on the hockey team". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  21. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (February 9, 2022). "Winter Olympics 2022: Inside the odd Olympic journey of China's men's hockey team". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022. China does not allow dual citizenship, but it's known to make exceptions for foreign athletes. "I told China that I'll never give up my [U.S.] passport, and they said that's fine," said Smith.
  22. ^ Higgins, Laine (February 12, 2022). "Jake Chelios Is American, Greek, Scottish, German and Irish. He's Playing for the Chinese Hockey Team". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  23. ^ "China Olympic men's hockey roster includes Chris Chelios' son". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  24. ^ "Olympics-Ice hockey-Chinese divided over imports on ice". Reuters. February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via www.reuters.com.
  25. ^ a b "Player Bio – Jeremy Smith". The Hockey News. May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
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