Playing career
Doug Smail starred at the University of North Dakota for three seasons from 1977 to 1980, scoring 87 points in 40 games in his final season in the WCHA. His performance was enough to warrant notice from the Winnipeg Jets, and the next season he was a full-time NHL player.
Smail played eleven seasons with Winnipeg, being a top two-way player for them, as he had twelve consecutive seasons in which he scored at least one shorthanded goal, with a total of 28 shorthanded goals in his career.
Perhaps Smail's greatest claim to fame was when he set the NHL record for fastest goal after the opening faceoff by scoring a goal five seconds after the game started on 20 December 1981. Smail finished his career with the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators, but never achieved the success he had in Winnipeg.
After Smail's NHL career was over, he played three seasons in Britain for Fife Flyers and Cardiff Devils before retiring. He was the first player ever to sign for a British team directly from an NHL team when he signed for Fife Flyers from Ottawa Senators.
He now resides in Colorado with his wife and three children. Smail was the Assistant Coach of the U-16 Team Rocky Mountain AAA Hockey program, where he coached alongside former NHL player Rick Berry last year, and is now the Head Coach of the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U-15 AAA squad.
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1979–80 |
- Named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1980)
- Named to the NCAA Championship Tournament MVP (1980)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1990)
- British Ice Hockey Writers Association Player of the Year (1994)
Records
- Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career shorthanded goals (25)
- Fastest goal to start an NHL hockey game (5 seconds)
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