Photo credits: Jim Egan / Abbotsford Canucks-AHL / Tim Bates
SUDBURY, Ont. – A proven winner as a head coach in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Jordan Smith is continuing his winning ways behind the bench with his latest triumph coming this week as an assistant coach with the Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks.
The former Soo Thunderbirds skipper helped the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate capture their first Calder Cup in franchise history Monday night, topping the Charlotte Checkers in six games.
No stranger to coming away victorious, Smith guided his hometown Thunderbirds to back-to-back Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy NOJHL crowns in 2015 and ’16.
His Soo squad also won the Dudley-Hewitt Central Canadian Jr. A championship in 2015 in Fort Frances, Ont., earning a berth to the then Royal Bank Cup that was held in Portage la Prairie, Man.
The Thunderbirds fell just short of another DHC triumph the following year, being edged in the final of the 2016 event, which was hosted by the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
Among his other accolades was earning consecutive NOJHL Coach of the Year honours for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.
In four seasons coaching the T-Birds, Smith led his club to an impressive overall record of 176-29-10-0 before making the move to the OHL as an associate coach with both the Sudbury Wolves and Soo Greyhounds.
Smith’s teams also boasted a 34-12 mark in the league playoffs in his time coaching the Soo.
He also spent two years in the AHL as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons before joining Abbotsford.
