CANTLON’S CORNER: SHOOTER HEADS TO THE AHL HALL OF FAME 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – In the AHL, from the mid-1990’s to the middle part of the first decade of the 21^st century, the name, Brad “Shooter” Smyth was synonymous with a big-time, clutch performer, and goal-scorer. In late January, in Springfield, MA, at the AHL All-Star game, Shooter will take his place in the AHL pantheon as a Hall-of-Famer.

“This is not meant to sound cliché, but I really am humbled by this. You think of all the guys you play with and against and know you’re receiving the highest award you can get, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting to go in someday. It’s always a secret hope and dream. So, when I got the call, I did a few fist pumps. To be recognized by your peers like this is something very, very meaningful,” Smyth said in an exclusive phone interview.

“The class I’m going in with is just fantastic. Murray Eaves, a great, AHL scorer who’s family is deeply involved with pro hockey. John Anderson, I remember watching him play for the Maple Leafs and Don Cherry? Mister Canadian Hockey, Saturday Night Hockey Night In Canada, Rock’em Sock’em hockey videos. You know I’m bringing my cell phone all charged up for that one,” said a gleeful Smyth, whose first three games of his AHL career were in Springfield.

Smyth spent 610 games in the AHL with 320 goals and 667 assists, but his 345 games in Hartford with a team-best. There he scored 184 goals and the team’s all-time best, 365 points. It stands out as his highest period of production in his esteemed career. He was third best in assists at 181 behind Derek Armstrong’s 204, and Ken Gernander’s 187. Gernander was inducted to the Hall four years ago.

Smyth is very mindful of all of those who played a part in his success in Hartford.

“When I got to Hartford, the first time, we had a Chris Sullivan, Todd Hall, Peter Ferraro, and Marc Savard, who was one of the best centers I have ever played with.”

The pair, Smyth and Savard, plowed through the Beast of New Haven in the Wolf Pack’s first ever playoff series.

The staff also were first and foremost in his mind.

“Our trainer, Tim Macre, (still with the Buffalo Sabres) was so good and put up with me, but did a great job. Our radio guy (Bob) Crawford. Hawk and I had a lot of fun doing Pack Talk at City Steam that was a such a blast,” remarked Smyth who now works on Ottawa Senators TSN 1200 radio broadcasts for the pre-game, intermission, and post-game show.

The Calder Cup championship season was among the highlights and Smyth again remembers other teammates and their contributions.

“Remember Chris Kenady scoring four goals in Springfield? That was wild and got things rolling for us. J.F. Labbe’s work in that Providence series was incredible. He helps get us back even and Terry Virtue’s OT goal. That was one of the most intense games I ever played in – a classic hockey game.”

Among the first former players to call was already an AHL inductee – the aforementioned, Labbe.  Now Smyth joins Labbe and Gernander as a Wolf Pack trio in the AHL Hall of Fame.

One of his former teammates, Todd Hall, a firefighter in Fairfield County and the head coach at Hamden High School, still brings up Shooter to the players that he now coaches. “It’s so awesome to see him going into the Hall of Fame. He was the greatest goal scorer I ever played with, hands down,” Hall said of the Ottawa native.

Two other pieces of Smyth’s success still stand out to him.

“In that Providence series when were down two goals in Game 5, I saw him backchecking as hard as anyone else on the team. That raised my game level. Let’s face it, Shooter isn’t going to the Hall of Fame because of his defensive prowess,“ said Hall with a laugh. “He was a premier scorer, but he was a team player and that effort showed and he genuinely cared about ALL of his teammates. He prepared his stick in a way I have never seen before or since. He taped his stick-all black- the whole stick twice with black tape because he never got the weight he wanted from the factory for his stick. He was like a baseball player with his bat or a concert violinist with his violin. He was prepared to play.”

Hall said his scoring knack was in part because he knew his own skill set.

“He was such a smart player because he knew what he did best and what he didn’t.  Like an Ovechkin, he was always in a position to score. I can’t tell you how many times he would come across the blue line, take a shot and turn the red light on. He prepared for every game.”

Smyth’s trajectory to the Hall of Fame started early in his first full AHL season with the Carolina Monarchs where he scored 68 goals, the second highest league history. He is the only player since to come close to Stephan Lebeau’s (Sherbrooke) record of 70 which was set in 1988. Nobody else has even come that close to challenging the record.

Smyth was acquired from the LA Kings who he signed within the off-season when Carolina didn’t offer a strong enough deal.

He was reunited with Armstrong, a high school friend from Ottawa who he played summer hockey and the two players personal bond grew greater.

“I was fortunate in my career to play with two of the best scorers in pro hockey in Luc Robitaille and Shooter. One was in the NHL and the other AHL, but they were similar in this regard, both had a knack of shooting and scoring. Sounds easy, looks easy and I’m telling you it’s not,” Armstrong said in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “Shooter would get across the line and he would find the holes. As a righthanded shot, he loved that top left wing circle. He would crank it and it was in the back of the net.”

The two have been friends since they were 14-years-old. Smyth’s father was the principal of the high school they both attended and Armstrong’s grandmother was the school janitor.

“We were always competitive and that has been one of his trademarks. He loved the game, he had the passion and that’s why it so much fun to play with him. He was selfish but in the right way. Brad knew what he wanted and knew what he was good at and he worked at it tirelessly.  You don’t get the puck that quarter or half a second after a pass on instinct you have to work hard, every day in visualizing that moment get to that level and he did. He was underrated as an all-around player. He wasn’t one-dimensional he would back there picking up his check. Hard to find a player like him today. We have been friends a long time and as good as a player as he was an even better person,” said Armstrong

Smyth, tallied 50 goals in 2001-02, the only Wolf Pack player to do so and since then only four AHL players have scored 50 or more goals.

Denis Hamel (Binghamton) and Donald MacLean (Grand Rapids) 56 goals in 2005-06, Brett Sterling (Chicago) 55 in 2006-07 and ex-Pack Alexander Giroux in back to back years with Hershey 2008-09 and 2009-10 scored 60 and 50 respectively.

“Being a goal scorer is something that isn’t done by accident. It’s the willingness to pay the price physically and you don’t just float around the ice every night and score three goals,“ said Smyth’s team captain and former Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander, now the Midwestern amateur scout for the Islanders. “It’s not all about sheer cumulative data and stats that get you selected, it’s also all about the (whole) person. Brad was a character; a loyal teammate, and genuinely loved by his teammates because he worked just as hard as the next person. You can say someone has a knack to a degree, but there has to be commitment. Training and working consistently to achieve the level he did. To handle a pre-season, 80-game regular season, and the playoffs, you have to be mentally strong. It’s possible because of preparation, that people from the outside think it’s easy. It’s not. That’s why he was so consistent.”

Every opponent respected Smyth’s ability on the ice.

Current Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge was skating for the Providence Bruins and remembers number 11 from many an occasion.

“You were always made aware of him by coaches and when he was on the ice, he was a genuine threat to score. He beat us a few times. I also remember he has some real grit to his game. He was in the dirty areas and a perimeter player at all. It’s an honor that’s well earned.”

When the AHL portion of his career wound down, he found some new memories playing in Europe with stops in France, Northern Ireland, and Scandinavia. He captured a Finnish League title with Karpat Oulu. Their two goalies – Nick Backstrom and Pekka Rinne.

“Two future NHL studs. We knew with them in net, we were going to win.”

For Smyth, the best way the Wolf Pack can add to this spectacular honor would be on Saturday. January 28^th against Charlotte. It’s two days before his induction. Howlings would make it “Brad Smyth Night” and formally retire his number 11 to the rafters of the XL Center.

It would be the perfect tribute to one of the Wolf Pack greats.