Casey DeSmith

Casey DeSmith, born August 13, 1991, in Rochester, New Hampshire, spent years building his professional career through the American Hockey League before establishing himself as a fixture in the NHL. Along the way, he set the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins record for most saves in a playoff game, was named to the AHL's 2016–17 All-Rookie Team, and was a co-recipient of the 2017 Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award.

The 6'0", 188-pound left-catching goaltender signed a three-year, $3-million free agent deal — $3 million total, not per season — with the Dallas Stars before the 2024–25 season. Through his career, DeSmith has appeared in 219 NHL games, going 98–69–29 with a 2.73 goals-against average, a .91 save percentage, and 13 shutouts.

In the 2025–26 season with Dallas, DeSmith has appeared in 29 games, posting a 14–8–6 record, a 2.34 goals-against average, a .91 save percentage, and 1 shutout across 1,695:00 of ice time.

InGoal Magazine has covered Casey DeSmith in one podcast appearance and three Pro Reads.

DeSmith appeared on Episode 237 of the InGoal Radio Podcast InGoal Radio Episode 237 with Casey DeSmith, and has since participated in a series of Pro Reads video breakdown sessions with Kevin Woodley, conducted after morning skates during the 2025–26 season. In those sessions, DeSmith walked through specific saves in detail, offering insight into the tactical and technical cues behind his positioning and movement.

In his first Pro Read Casey DeSmith ProRead 1, DeSmith broke down a rush zone entry against the Edmonton Oilers involving Leon Draisaitl. He explained that staying inside his crease until the play reached the blue line — something he worked on with former Vancouver Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark — allowed him to push directly into angle on the cross-ice pass rather than chasing the play. "Not being too far out on entries, that's something that we really worked hard on that year (in Vancouver)," DeSmith said. "That way when that pass is made, I can kind of just toggle out a little." He also described a technique called "motion" — a slight release of edges to build backward momentum — that he learned with the Pittsburgh Penguins under then-goalie coach Mike Buckley. On the near-drop of his left pad as he moved across, DeSmith explained it as a read on whether a one-timer was coming: "If he did one-time that, I can always just drop that lead leg into a butterfly and be pretty compact but he doesn't get it clean, doesn't one-time it, so now I grab my feet again."

In his second Pro Read Casey DeSmith ProRead 2, DeSmith broke down a power-play sequence against the Seattle Kraken featuring Eeli Tolvanen. He described pre-scouting Tolvanen as a one-time threat — "I know Tolvanen has a big shot on his one-timer side" — and explained his decision to slide outside his post rather than into it based on the shooter's position on the ice. "Face-off dot, to me that's outside the post all day, every day," DeSmith said. "I'm more square, not the biggest guy, so I need more depth — all the above."

In his third Pro Read Casey DeSmith Pro Reads, DeSmith broke down a sequence involving Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin and defenseman Evan Bouchard. He described feeling late on the cross-ice pass after Podkolzin sold a shot, then executing a double push across rather than dropping first. "Caught myself, got a little rotation and now I'm like, okay, I'm really late. Push. I still feel late. Another push, get my whole body in a good spot," DeSmith said. He framed his overall philosophy as prioritizing positioning over perfection: "My philosophy is, at least put yourself in the space to make the save and trust that as long as you're in the right spot — you're square, you're on angle, you have good depth, check, check, check — then I can make a lot of saves because I've done it for a long time, and you can just trust your save-making ability."

According to Clear Sight Analytics figures cited in the Pro Reads, DeSmith's adjusted save percentage ranked fifth in the NHL at the time of the first breakdown Casey DeSmith ProRead 1, tied for 12th at the time of the second Casey DeSmith ProRead 2, and tied for 14th at the time of the third Casey DeSmith Pro Reads.