Witnessing his departure from the squad has embarrassed the head coach of Kelowna Rockets.
Throughout his 15-year NHL career, Smith played in 1,008 games as captain of the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. Most recently, he spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators. Rockets President/GM Bruce Hamilton stated, “I’m really excited that we have a new head coach and I think that he will fit in really well with the team we have and the existing coaching staff.” “I believe that having a coach of this caliber, with this kind of experience as a player and as a coach, will really excite our players.” After playing for the Regina Pats in the WHL, 42-year-old Smith went on to play in the NHL for teams like New Jersey, Toronto, Edmonton, Philadelphia, and Ottawa. Following his retirement in 2008–09, he became a part of the Senators organization, serving as an assistant coach on the team’s bench for the previous two seasons after starting in player development. Smith, the 10th head coach in the 25-year history of the Rockets, expressed his excitement. This seems like a nice fit. I’ve had excellent talks with Bruce and got to know the coaching staff. I believe we have a lot of the same ideas and perspectives about what it takes to be a successful team leader, so I’m excited about the task of coaching the Rockets in Kelowna.” Brad Ralph, who the Rockets parted ways with after the 2015–16 WHL season, gives way to Smith in this role. Smith is a new addition to the Rockets bench, joining assistant coaches Travis Crickard and Kris Mallette. On September 23, Kelowna will make their WHL regular season debut in Kamloops. The squad will commence the 2016 WHL Preseason on September 3 and play its home opener on September 24.
