Greg “Bird Dog” Smyth (April 23, 1966 – February 16, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Greg Smyth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 23, 1966 Oakville, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
February 16, 2018 (aged 51) St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Philadelphia Flyers Quebec Nordiques Calgary Flames Florida Panthers Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| NHL draft |
22nd overall, 1984 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 1986–2000 | ||
Playing career
editSmyth was born in Oakville, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Mississauga.[1]
He later played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Blackhawks. He was known as an enforcer during his playing career.[citation needed]
Playing the final three seasons of his career within the Maple Leafs organization, primarily with the St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL, Smyth embarked on a coaching career in the 1999–2000 season with St. John's as an assistant coach. Less than a month into the season, Smyth got into a physical altercation with St. John’s forwards David Nemirovsky and Jason Bonsignore in Portland, Maine after a game against the Portland Pirates, in which Smyth was let go the next day.[2]
Smyth briefly returned to playing, playing 9 games with the London Knights of the British Superleague, before ending his professional career.
Coached the Junior Celtics in the St. John's Junior Hockey League, winning the prestigious Veitch Trophy in 2001.
Death
editSmyth resided in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador following the end of his playing career.
Smyth died of cancer on February 16, 2018, he was 51 years old.[2]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | London Knights | OHL | 64 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 252 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | ||
| 1984–85 | London Knights | OHL | 47 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 188 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 27 | ||
| 1985–86 | London Knights | OHL | 46 | 12 | 42 | 54 | 197 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | ||
| 1985–86 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| 1986–87 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 158 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 1986–87 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1987–88 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 21 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 47 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 192 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | ||
| 1988–89 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 43 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 310 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||
| 1988–89 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 49 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 235 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 52 | ||
| 1989–90 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 56 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 340 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Halifax Citadels | AHL | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 138 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 35 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 22 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Los Angeles Ice Dogs | IHL | 41 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 231 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 43 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 273 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 1996–97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 63 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 353 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1998–99 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 40 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 159 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 1999–00 | London Knights | BISL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 228 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 783 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
- ^ a b "Bird Dog made an impact: former St. John's Maple Leaf Smyth dead at 51". The Telegram. 2018-02-17. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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