Born	February 21, 1976 (1976-02-21) (age 33), Banff, AB, CAN
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Left wing
NHL team F. teams	Los Angeles Kings Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders Colorado Avalanche
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	6th overall, 1994 Edmonton Oilers
Pro career	1995 – present

Ryan Alexander Gordon Smyth (born February 21, 1976 in Banff, Alberta) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. Smyth was selected 6th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, and he went on to play 12 seasons for the club he idolized as a child.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Edmonton Oilers (1994–2007)

Smyth played 3 games for the Oilers in the 1994–95 season. The following season he tallied his first goal, on November 24, 1995, against Trevor Kidd of the Calgary Flames while on the power play. He has the distinction of breaking two of Wayne Gretzky's Oilers records, scoring 20 goals on the power play in just his second full season, and scoring three goals in 2:01, breaking Gretzky's club record (2:18) for the fastest hat trick by an Oiler on October 12, 2006. It was Smyth's fifth career hat trick. Smyth was part of the Gold medal winning Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics. On August 14, 2003, Smyth managed to avoid arbitration with, and a possible trade from, the Oilers by signing a two-year contract.

Ryan Smyth in 2005.

Smyth was part of the 2005–06 Oiler team which advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. Smyth showed his persistence in the presence of injury during the second-round series against the San Jose Sharks. However, the Oilers lost in game 7 of the finals to the Carolina Hurricanes. Smyth had 7 goals and 9 assists in the 2006 Playoffs.

Smyth made his first All Star appearance at the 2007 All-Star game in Dallas.

[edit] New York Islanders (2007)

On February 27, 2007, last minute negotiations with Smyth's agent Don Meehan failed, and after twelve years with the Oilers, Smyth was traded to the New York Islanders, in exchange for Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra and the Islanders' first round pick in the 2007 entry draft. On February 28, 2007, Smyth held an emotional news conference at the Edmonton International Airport. He thanked the Oilers organization, the fans and everyone involved for allowing him to play and live his career in Edmonton.

On March 1, 2007, Smyth notched his first point as an Islander, picking up an assist on Mike Sillinger's first period powerplay goal. In 18 regular season games, Smyth posted 5 goals, 10 assists, and racked up 14 penalty minutes in helping the Islanders edge out the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens for the 8th and final 2006–07 Eastern Conference playoff berth. Smyth then put up 1 goal, 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes as the 8th seeded Islanders were eliminated in 5 games by the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres on April 20, 2007..

[edit] Colorado Avalanche (2007–2009)

On July 1, 2007, Smyth signed a 5 year, $31.2 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.^[1][2] He only played in 55 games during the 2007-08 season due to numerous injuries, recording 14 goals and 23 assists. He recorded 2 goals and 3 assists in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild in the first round but were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings in round 2.

Smyth scored his 300th career goal alongside Milan Hejduk on January 18, 2009, against the Calgary Flames in a 6-2 victory at the Pepsi Center.^[3] He would notch 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points on the 2008–09 season before fracturing his right hand on April 1, 2009 in a 3-0 home loss against the Phoenix Coyotes, ending his season just five games short of playing in all 82 regular season games.^[4] At the time of his injury, he lead the Avs in assists and points, and was tied with Milan Hejduk for first in goals. At season's end, he and Hejduk were tied for the lead with 59 points, though one goal short of Hejduk's 27.

[edit] Los Angeles Kings (2009–present)

On July 3, 2009, Smyth was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing, and a fifth round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.^[5] Smyth debuted for the Kings on October 3, 2009. He scored his first goal for Los Angeles on October 6, 2009 against San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

[edit] Personal

Smyth and his wife Stacey have two daughters, Isabella and Elizabeth and one son, Alexander. Older brother Kevin Smyth played 58 games in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers.^[6]

[edit] Awards and achievements

• 1994-95 WHL East Second All-Star Team
• 2006-07 - Played in NHL All-Star Game

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

Smyth has represented Canada on numerous occasions

Smyth currently holds a Team Canada record for most games played at 78. His nickname is "Captain Canada" as he was named captain of the Canada men's national ice hockey team for the World Championships from 2001 to 2005. Smyth also played for Team Canada in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold	2003 Finland	Ice hockey
Gold	2004 Czech Republic	Ice hockey
Silver	2005 Austria	Ice hockey
Canada Cup / World Cup
Gold	2004 World Cup of Hockey	Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	1995 Canada	Ice hockey

Played for Canada in:

• 1995 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
• 1999 World Championships
• 2000 World Championships
• 2001 World Championships
• 2002 World Championships
• 2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
• 2003 World Championships (gold medal)
• 2004 World Championships (gold medal)
• 2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
• 2005 World Championships (silver medal)
• 2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ryan Smyth's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ryan Smyth's NHL player profile
• Ryan Smyth at the Internet Movie Database