Mike Smith

Mike Smith spent 30 minutes on the ice at the NET360 Goalie Camp in the summer of 2021 walking two of the youngest campers through his approach to playing the puck — a session that InGoal Magazine was on hand to film and later published as a four-part series for its Premium Members ^[1].

Born in Kingston, Ontario on March 22, 1982, Smith was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (30th pick) of the 2001 NHL Draft. Standing 6'5" and weighing 220 pounds, he plays left-catching. Over a 670-game NHL career, Smith recorded 299 wins, 263 losses, and 78 overtime losses, with a career goals-against average of 2.70, a save percentage of .912, and 44 shutouts.

InGoal Magazine has covered Mike Smith in four InGoal articles, all centered on the NET360 camp session. The series, produced by David Hutchison and Kevin Woodley, documented Smith working with 17-year-old Matthew Kieper of the WHL's Regina Pats — who had recently attended Canada's U-18 summer camp — and 14-year-old Matthew Hutchison, entering his first season with the North Island Silvertips in the BC U18-AAA league ^[1].

Part one of the series covered purposeful practice, accepting mistakes, the importance of skating beyond traditional crease movement patterns, and the need to get defensemen and coaches aligned on where the goaltender will go on the ice ^[1]. Part two turned to how Smith holds his stick, how he gains leverage on a shot, and how he decides when to leave the net to handle a rim or a dump-in — including his practice of studying the opposition forecheck before the game even begins ^[2]. Smith was direct about where he places communication in the hierarchy of puckhandling skills: "If you can't communicate with your defensemen, then you have zero chance to be a good puck handler….the communication part is number one" ^[2].

Part three moved from discussion to demonstration, with Smith leading the young goalies through skating drills focused on the footwork required to get in and out of the net to play the puck. He mentioned practicing those specific drills himself for roughly ten minutes each time he takes the ice ^[3]. The series concluded with part four, in which Smith offered closing thoughts on daily practice and the long-term work of becoming a capable puck handler. AHL All-Star Zane McIntyre, who had been watching the session, joined the conversation near the end ^[4].

The Part 1 article also referenced a lesson Smith said he took early in his NHL career from Marty Turco during his time with the Dallas Stars, connecting it to broader themes about puckhandling development that were echoed by St. Louis Blues goaltending development coach Dan Stewart at Hockey Canada's 2021 Virtual Goaltending Coach Certification Seminar ^[1].