Alex Smart Explained

Position:Left wing
Played For:Montreal Canadiens
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:150
Birth Date:May 29, 1918
Birth Place:Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Death Place:Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Career Start:1938
Career End:1953

Alexander Smart (May 29, 1918 – April 18, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played 8 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1942–43 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1938 to 1950, was mainly spent in the Quebec Senior Hockey League.

Playing career

Born in Brandon, Manitoba, Smart played junior hockey in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Portage Terriers for two seasons. In 1937–38, joined the senior ranks with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association and scored 23 points in 12 games at a goal-per-game pace. The following season, he began a three-year stint in the Montreal City Hockey League (MCHL) with the Verdun Maple Leafs and Montreal Sr. Canadiens.

In 1941–42, Smart moved with the Sr. Canadiens to the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL). Affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League,[1] Smart was called up to the NHL in January of the 1942–43 NHL season and, on January 14, became the first player in league history to score a hat trick in his NHL debut; this feat would not be matched for 36 years, by Réal Cloutier at the start of the 1979–80 NHL season, and since repeated by only Fabian Brunnström (2008), Derek Stepan (2010), Ryan Poehling (2019), and not exceeded until Auston Matthews (2016), who scored four.[2] He completed the season with 5 goals and 2 assists in 8 games – the lone NHL stint of his career.

Smart spent the remainder of his career in the QSHL with the Montreal Royals and Ottawa Senators except for one more season in the MCHL with the Montreal Vickers and the final season of his career in the OVHL with Eastview St. Charles. He recorded a career-high 66 points in 47 games with the Senators in 1947–48, then helped the club to an Allan Cup in 1949 as Canada's senior amateur champions. Smart retired after the 1950–51 season spent with Eastview.

Post-playing career

After retiring from the QSHL, Smart became a scout for the Los Angeles Kings and worked with Goodyear Tire for forty years.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
1935–36Portage TerriersMJHL16 10 4 14 46 9 6 15 2
1936–37Portage TerriersMJHL16 15 4 19 104 0 2 2 6
1937–38Toronto MarlborosOHA12 12 11 23 106 4 8 12 9
1938–39Verdun Maple LeafsQSHL22 6 9 15 182 1 1 2 4
1939–40Verdun Maple LeafsQSHL21 8 9 17 138 7 1 8 9
1940–41Montreal Senior CanadiensMCHL33 7 15 22 21
1941–42Montreal Senior CanadiensQSHL36 15 6 21 406 4 4 8 4
1942–43Montreal CanadiensNHL8 5 2 7 0
1942–43Montreal Senior CanadiensQSHL23 12 11 23 8
1943–44Montreal RoyalsQSHL20 9 14 23 95 4 3 7 2
1944–45Montreal RoyalsQSHL24 19 19 38 127 2 3 5 2
1945–46Montreal RoyalsQSHL37 16 24 40 3311 5 5 10 6
1946–47Ottawa SenatorsQSHL38 14 21 35 269 1 6 7 4
1947–48Ottawa SenatorsQSHL47 28 38 66 1112 2 8 10 6
1947–48Ottawa SenatorsAl-Cup10 4 7 11 2
1948–49Ottawa SenatorsQSHL40 14 27 41 2911 3 4 7 6
1948–49Ottawa SenatorsAl-Cup14 1 4 5 2
1949–50Ottawa SenatorsQSHL28 8 12 20 287 0 3 3 12
QSHL totals336 149 190 339 22778 29 38 67 55
NHL totals8 5 2 7 0

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Legends of Hockey - Alex Smart . 2008-10-15 . . 2016-10-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161014062311/http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14346 . live .
  2. News: Newcomer's historic debut sparks Stars victory. 2008-10-15. 2008-10-15. Star Telegram. 2020-05-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20200524183655/http://www.star-telegram.com/stars/story/977993.html/. dead.