Matt Smaby

Matthew Walker Smaby (born October 14, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He last played with EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). As of 2021, he is the head coach of the Waterloo Black Hawks, a Tier I junior team in the United States Hockey League.

Matt Smaby
Born (1984-10-14) October 14, 1984
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Tampa Bay Lightning
EHC München
NHL Draft 41st overall, 2003
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2006–2017

Career

Smaby was drafted 41st overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Smaby had a three-year collegiate career with the University of North Dakota. He made his professional debut during the 2006–07 season playing for the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL). Smaby made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut in the 2007–08 season playing 14 games with the Lightning.

Smaby played five years with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. He did not receive a qualifying offer from Tampa Bay after the 2010–11 season and became an unrestricted free agent. On July 14, 2011, Smaby signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks.[1]

On June 6, 2013, Smaby signed his first European contract on a one-year deal with EHC München of the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[2] Prior to the 2014–15 season, Smaby signed a professional tryout contract with the Arizona Coyotes but was released on October 4, 2014,[3] and returned to EHC München. In 2015, München extended Smaby's contract though the 2016–17 season.

Smaby retired from playing in 2017 and returned to the University of North Dakota to earn his degree while rejoining his collegiate team, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, as team manager. After earning his degree in 2019, he returned to Europe as an assistant coach with EC Red Bull Salzburg of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smaby returned to the United States in 2020 and coached youth hockey in Grand Forks, North Dakota. On July 27, 2021, he was hired as the head coach of the Waterloo Black Hawks, a Tier I junior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL).[4]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Shattuck–Saint Mary's HSMN 65 7 18 25 134 — — — — —
2002–03 Shattuck–Saint Mary's HSMN 57 3 20 23 114 — — — — —
2003–04 University of North Dakota WCHA 39 1 6 7 81 — — — — —
2004–05 University of North Dakota WCHA 42 1 2 3 86 — — — — —
2005–06 University of North Dakota WCHA 46 4 15 19 113 — — — — —
2006–07 Springfield Falcons AHL 66 2 14 16 43 — — — — —
2007–08 Norfolk Admirals AHL 58 1 5 6 66 — — — — —
2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 14 0 0 0 12 — — — — —
2008–09 Norfolk Admirals AHL 25 2 4 6 30 — — — — —
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 43 0 4 4 50 — — — — —
2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 33 0 2 2 27 — — — — —
2009–10 Norfolk Admirals AHL 7 0 2 2 9 — — — — —
2010–11 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 32 0 0 0 17 — — — — —
2011–12 Syracuse Crunch AHL 30 2 7 9 46 — — — — —
2012–13 Norfolk Admirals AHL 26 0 4 4 16 — — — — —
2013–14 EHC Red Bull München DEL 42 3 13 16 64 3 0 0 0 10
2014–15 EHC Red Bull München DEL 31 1 3 4 56 4 0 0 0 18
2015–16 EHC Red Bull München DEL 42 0 7 7 60 14 2 1 3 20
2016–17 EHC Red Bull München DEL 42 5 9 14 97 14 0 1 1 12
AHL totals 212 7 36 43 210 — — — — —
NHL totals 122 0 6 6 106 — — — — —
DEL totals 157 9 32 41 277 35 2 2 4 60

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-WCHA Third Team 2005–06
WCHA All-Tournament Team 2006 [5]
WCHA All-Academic Team 2005-06

References
  1. "Ducks ink Smaby to One-Year deal". Anaheim Ducks. July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  2. "Munich olbigated to Matt Smaby" (in German). EHC München. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. "Coyotes Release Smaby". Arizona Coyotes. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  4. "Smaby Next Hawks Head Coach". Waterloo Black Hawks. July 27, 2021.
  5. "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
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