Smith's story warms the heart
(Article Courtesy of Peter Ruicci and the Sault Star Newspaper)
Even when the news breaks your heart, there's a point when the story can still inspire it.
I thought we'd reached that time 14 months ago when former Soo Greyhound Jordan Smith, despite losing his left eye, returned to the ice to play hockey for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves.
But if that gutsy act served to encourage his family, friends and many fans, what the 22-year-old, Sault Ste. Marie native has accomplished in the days since has truly amazed us.
It's also helped ease people's concerns about a young man's future prospects and - more importantly - his present mental state.
The six-foot-two, 225-pound defenceman has been chosen an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) first-team allstar.
Imagine? A player with sight in one eye has accomplished more this season than the majority of those with vision in both.
And that has Smith thinking beyond simply playing three more years of university hockey and then hanging his skates up.
"I'm making progress and it's nice to be recognized for the strides I'm making. It's made me think about the future differently," said Smith, whose life changed forever Feb. 24, 2006, when, as a member of the American Hockey League's Portland Pirates, his eye was lacerated after a redirected shot hit him in the face. "I want to get my teaching degree and then I'm going to look at my options."
Which could include professional hockey, either in North America or elsewhere.
A second-round draft choice of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2004, even if Smith, who has a prosthesis, was somehow good enough, players with vision in only one eye are banned from the NHL.
After joining the Thunderwolves in January of 2007, Smith finished his first season with a goal and five assists in 16 games.
But after adjusting to many new challenges, the physical, defensive-minded Smith came on during the 2007-2008 campaign.
A fierce hitter, Smith also chipped in offensively with six goals and 17 assists in 40 games.
"Compared to where I was a year ago, I'm a totally different player," said Smith, who's majoring in geography with a physical education minor. "My reaction time is a little slower than it was as a pro, but it's coming. I'm more confident."
Smith, who, beginning in 2001, played four seasons for the Greyhounds, says his biggest adjustment has been in trying to make sure all five opponent are in front of him.
"I always count guys and if I know where they are on the ice and where they're going, I'm all right," he said. "This season has shown me I could still compete and that's what I'm all about."
The Thunderwolves head coach, Don McKee, says to use the word 'surprised' to describe his reaction to what Smith has accomplished, would be an understatement.
McKee called Smith a role model and said he marvels at how the former pro never shows frustration over the difficult situation he's been placed in.
"He's done a masterful job," McKee said. "We can't know the challenges this guy is facing. My dream is for him to hold a championship trophy in Thunder Bay with either an A or a C on his jersey."
In both 2009 and 2010, the Thunderwolves play host to the Canadian University Championships.
And as Smith continues to progress in the classroom - an important part of being a team leader McKee says - the coach sees him as an alternate captain for next year's team and Thunder Bay's captain the following season.
Pretty heady stuff.
Yet it's not as if Smith is totally over what happened to him that February night in Maine.
How could he be?
It ended a dream he'd held since his early days in hockey. Smith wanted to be an NHL player and he was sure that one day so