Mike Smith Earns NHL Honors
June 15, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Chops News Release
DES MOINES, IA - Former Iowa Stars Goaltender and current Dallas Stars Goaltender Mike Smith was named to the 2006-07 NHL All-Rookie Team, it was announced on Thursday evening from the NHL Awards Ceremony in Toronto. Voting was conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the conclusion of the NHL's Regular Season.
The 25-year-old Smith appeared in 23 games with the Dallas Stars this season, posting a 12-5-2 record with a 2.23 Goals-Against-Average and a .912 Save Percentage. He became the first goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in his NHL debut October 21st at Phoenix (22 saves). Smith twice was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week, honored on November 26th after going 3-0-0 with a 1.73 GAA, .917 Save Percentage and one shutout, and on February 12th after posting a 3-0-0 record with a 0.85 GAA and a .967 Save Percentage.
"I'm honored to be named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team," Smith recently told DallasStars.com. "It is always nice to be recognized for your accomplishments on the ice. It was a great rookie season and I hope to build on that as my career continues."
Also named to the All-Rookie Team were Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. The San Jose Sharks' Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic earned the two spots on defense, marking the first sweep at the position by one club since Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov were selected in 1991-92. Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny (brother of former Iowa Star Yan Stastny) was the third forward named to the team.
Smith is only the second player in franchise history (Mike Modano, 1990) to be named to the NHL All-Rookie team, which began honoring a team after the 1982-83 season.
While in Iowa, he was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for March 2006, and had a record of 25-19-6 in 50 appearances. The Kingston, Ontario native finished the 2005-06 Regular Season fourth in the AHL with a 2.50 GAA, while placing seventh with a .917 Save Percentage. He led all AHL goaltenders with six assists, including a three-assist performance on March 3rd, 2006 in Peoria. His second assist came on the game-winning goal. That achievement tied an AHL record with three assists in a single game by a goaltender. He joined three other AHL goalies, most recently Martin Brodeur of the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Brodeur, then of the Utica Devils (AHL), accomplished the feat on January 23rd, 1993 at the New York-based Adirondack Red Wings (AHL).
In 2002-03 with the Lexington ECHL franchise, he became the sixth goalie in ECHL history to score a goal. He also had a 21-save shutout during that October 26th game vs. the Dayton Bombers.
American Hockey League Stories from June 15, 2007
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