Devante Smith-Pelly

Devante Malik Smith-Pelly (born June 14, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing for HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League.[1] He most recently played for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[2] Smith-Pelly plays in the style of a power forward and is known for his hitting and forechecking abilities.[3] Smith-Pelly won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018.

Devante Smith-Pelly
Smith-Pelly with the Washington Capitals in 2018
Born (1992-06-14) June 14, 1992
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 223 lb (101 kg; 15 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams
Kunlun Red Star
Anaheim Ducks
Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils
Washington Capitals
NHL Draft 42nd overall, 2010
Anaheim Ducks
Playing career 2011present

Playing career

Junior

Smith-Pelly began his major junior career in 2008–09, recording 25 points over 57 games with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). During the 2009 playoffs, he added five points over 11 games. One of his two goals ended the second-longest game in OHL history, as he scored in triple-overtime to eliminate the Barrie Colts in the conference quarterfinals.[4] The following season, he improved to 62 points over 60 games. In the subsequent summer, he was selected 42nd overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Smith-Pelly in February 2012.

Returning to the OHL for a third season following his draft, Smith-Pelly recorded a junior career-high 36 goals and 66 points over 67 games. He added 21 points in 20 OHL playoff games, as the Majors lost in the Finals to the Owen Sound Attack. Despite losing the OHL title, the Majors qualified for the 2011 Memorial Cup, Canada's national major junior tournament, by way of having been chosen as the host team at the beginning of the season. Advancing to the final, the Majors were defeated by the Saint John Sea Dogs In the Memorial Cup Final, 3–1. Smith-Pelly recorded six points over five games and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team.

Professional

Although eligible for one more OHL season in 2011–12, Smith-Pelly made the Anaheim Ducks' roster out of training camp. He recorded five points in his first 26 games before the Ducks agreed to loan him to the Canadian national junior team in December 2011.[5]

Smith-Pelly with the Devils

During his first full season in the NHL with the Ducks in 2014–15, having produced 17 points in 54 games, on February 24, 2015, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jiří Sekáč.[6]

In the following 2015–16 season, Smith-Pelly got off to a strong start with the Canadiens as they had a franchise-best 9 straight wins to start the year. However, with only 6 goals through 46 games, he was dealt by the Canadiens to the New Jersey Devils, just a little over a year from when he was acquired on February 29, 2016, in exchange for Stefan Matteau.[7] During the offseason, on July 1, 2016, Smith-Pelly signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract extension with the Devils.[8]

After Smith-Pelly regressed in the 2016–17 season, he was placed on waivers by the Devils in order to buy out the remaining year and $1.3 million left on his contract on June 30, 2017.[9] On July 3, 2017, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals with a $650,000 salary.[10][11]

On February 17, 2018, Smith-Pelly was the target of a racist chant by four fans at the United Center during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.[12] The four fans, who were chanting the word "basketball", were escorted out of the United Center and issued a lifetime ban from the arena by the Blackhawks organization.[12] Both the NHL and Blackhawks condemned the action of the four fans and apologized to Smith-Pelly.[12]

Smith-Pelly scored seven goals in the 2018 playoffs, including the tying goal in the clinching game five of the Stanley Cup, helping the Capitals secure their first NHL title in team history.[13] Smith-Pelly became the second player in NHL history, behind Patrice Bergeron-Cleary to have a hyphenated surname engraved on the Stanley Cup.

During the 2018–19 season, Smith-Pelly continued with the Capitals in a fourth-line role. Through inconsistent play and contributing with 8 points in 54 games, on February 20, 2019, Smith-Pelly was placed on waivers by the Washington Capitals before successfully clearing on 21 February.[14] He was then assigned to affiliate, the Hershey Bears, returning to the AHL for the first time since 2014.

Smith-Pelly returned to the Washington Capitals during the 2019 Stanley Cup first-round series after T.J. Oshie was injured in Game 4 versus the Carolina Hurricanes.[15]

International play


Smith-Pelly as a member of Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championships
Medal record
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
2012 Canada
World U-17 Hockey Challenge
2009 Canada

Smith-Pelly debuted with Hockey Canada at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He recorded three assists over six games playing with Team Ontario, helping them to a gold medal win.

During his NHL rookie season, the Anaheim Ducks loaned Smith-Pelly to the Canadian junior team for the 2012 World Junior Championships. One of two players to be loaned from the NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brett Connolly was the other),[5] he was named an alternate captain for the team.[16] In Canada's first game of the tournament, against Finland, he broke a bone in his left foot blocking a shot. Opting to stay with the team rather than return to Anaheim to begin his rehabilitation,[17] Smith-Pelly watched as Canada went on to win the bronze medal and since he was part of the Canadian roster, he also received a medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 57 13 12 25 24 11 2 3 5 4
2009–10 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 60 29 33 62 35 16 8 6 14 20
2010–11 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 67 36 30 66 50 20 15 6 21 16
2011–12 Anaheim Ducks NHL 49 7 6 13 16
2011–12 Syracuse Crunch AHL 4 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Norfolk Admirals AHL 65 14 18 32 65
2012–13 Anaheim Ducks NHL 7 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Norfolk Admirals AHL 55 27 16 43 29
2013–14 Anaheim Ducks NHL 19 2 8 10 2 12 5 0 5 24
2014–15 Anaheim Ducks NHL 54 5 12 17 12
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 20 1 2 3 14 12 1 2 3 2
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 46 6 6 12 22
2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 18 8 5 13 8
2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 53 4 5 9 12
2017–18 Washington Capitals NHL 75 7 9 16 38 24 7 1 8 12
2018–19 Washington Capitals NHL 54 4 4 8 15 3 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 20 6 8 14 2
2019–20 Kunlun Red Star KHL 36 8 3 11 40
NHL totals 395 44 57 101 137 51 13 3 16 38

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada Ontario U17 6 0 3 3 4
2012 Canada WJC 1 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 7 0 3 3 4

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
All-Star Game 2010
CHL Top Prospects Game 2010
CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2011 [18]
NHL
Stanley Cup (Washington Capitals) 2018 [19]

References

  1. Oland, Ian (2019-10-25). "Devante Smith-Pelly will continue his career in the KHL". russianmachineneverbreaks.com. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  2. "Ducks Draft Smith-Pelly 42nd Overall". Anaheim Ducks. 2010-06-27. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  3. Francis, Eric (2011-12-20). "Diggin Devante". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  4. "Smith-Pelly scores to end 2nd-longest game in OHL history as Majors boot Colts". National Hockey League. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  5. "Connolly, Smith-Pelly granted leave to play in world juniors". Postmedia News. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. "Habs acquire Smith-Pelly from Ducks". The Sports Network. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  7. "Devils acquire Smith-Pelly from Montreal". New Jersey Devils. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  8. "New Jersey Devils re-sign Devante Smith-Pelly for two years". allaboutthejersey.com. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  9. "Devils buy-out Cammelleri, Smith-Pelly". NJ.com. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  10. "Devante Smith-Pelly se joint aux Capitals" (in French). RDS (Réseau des sports). 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  11. "Capitals sign Devante Smith-Pelly". Washington Capitals. 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  12. "Devante Smith-Pelly calls racial taunts 'disgusting'". ESPN. 2018-02-19. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  13. "Capitals win Stanley Cup, Washington's first major sports championship since 1992". The Washington Post. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  14. "Caps' Smith-Pelly on waivers; SJS claim Haley". TSN. February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  15. "Capitals' Devante Smith-Pelly: Called up ahead of Game 5". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  16. "Devante Smith-Pelly shines for Team Canada". Calgary Herald. 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  17. "Smith-Pelly plays cheerleader for Canada". National Post. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  18. "Memorial Cup All-Star Teams". eliteprospects.com. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  19. "The Washington Capitals, after years of frustration, win the Stanley Cup". The New York Times. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.