Montreal Canadiens Drive for 25: The Hardy Devante Smith-Pelly
By Mat Germain
Apr 11, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing
Devante Smith-Pelly(21) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Montreal Canadiens Drive for 25: The Hardy Devante Smith-Pelly
- Born: 14th of June, 1992 in Scarborough, Ontario (22 years old)
- Height/Weight: 6’0″ / 220 lbs
- In 2007-08, scored 77 points in 85 games for the Toronto jr Canadiens of the GTHL, achieving a career high 159 PIM
- Drafted in the 2nd rd, 42nd overall, of the 2010 draft by the Anaheim Ducks
- Played for Mississauga Micheal’s Majors in the OHL
- Scored 40 points in 47 playoff games while with the Majors
- Made the Memorial Cup All-Star Team after helping the Majors (host team) to the final game
- He made the Ducks roster despite having 1 more year of eligibility for juniors
- Won a Gold medal with Canada’s U-17 team
- Salary and cap hit $800,000
- Twitter handle @smithpelly23 (he wore #23 in juniors)
When you read the definition of “Hardy” in the dictionary, it states the following:
"“Capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, sturdy, strong, requiring great physical courage, bold or daring, courageous”"
Isn’t that the best description of what Smith-Pelly has displayed since he’s been with the Montreal Canadiens? I believe so, and here’s how he got to Montreal and to these playoffs.
DEVANTE SMITH-PELLY: MINORS CAREER
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Devante Smith-Pelly was selected in the first round,
, of the 2008 OHL draft by Mississauga. In his first season there, he managed 25 points in 57 games. He also got the opportunity to play for Team Canada
‘s U-17 team at the World U-17 challenge in 2008, earning a Gold medal in the tournament. That team included players such as
Tyler Seguin,
Jeff Skinner,
Erik Gudbranson, and
Tyler Toffoli. Later that season, he played 11 playoff games, getting 1 goal, 4 assists for 5 points.
Mar 16, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (21) skates with the puck as Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman
Victor Hedman(77) defends during the third period at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
But it was the following seasons in the OHL that he truly started making his mark. He jumped to 62 points in 60 games that year, managing 29 goals and finishing a +27. He just kept rolling in 2010-11 with 66 points in 67 games. He did just as well in the playoffs, particularly in 2011 when he scored 15 goals in 21 games.
However, the highlights of his junior career had to be his performance at the memorial cup in 2011, something that got him on the tournament All-Star roster (along with current team-mate Nathan Beaulieu), as well as getting the call from Team Canada to play at the WJHC. Here’s each OHL player who was selected’s reaction to getting the call. That roster included fellow Hab Brendan Gallagher.
He played 4 games for the Syracuse Crunch and the remainder of his AHL game with the Norfolk Admirals between 2011-12 and 2013-14. His best season with the Admirals was in 2013-14, when he totalled 43 points in 55 games.
This timeframe also included a total of 75 games with the Ducks, finally earning the trust and confidence from that team to get his minutes up after managing 10 points in 19 games in 2013-14.
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