EP.38 - Jerred Smithson - How to Become an NHL Regular at 26 Years Old - a podcast by Jason Podollan

If you look up Jarred Smithson on HockeyDB, you’ll probably notice something pretty quickly – Jarred never scored a lot of goals.  He never had more than 12 in a season as a pro and topped out at 14 in junior. 

He wasn’t drafted in bantam. 

He wasn’t drafted by an NHL team either. Twice he was passed over. 

But he did play 606 games in the best league in the world.

Smithson went on to play 10 straight seasons in the NHL after breaking through as a 26-year-old with the Nashville Predators. 

Some younger athletes might be asking how he did it? Most of them think only the super skilled players that score all the goals and get all the points go on to the glory of the NHL. But that’s just not true, and you see it time and time again. 

Smithson played 600 games in the NHL because he embraced a role, and he did it well. 

He perfected his face-offs. He played with energy. He hit. He knew how to play defense and be reliable in his own end. His coach could trust him. He killed penalties.  He would defend his teammates. He was a good teammate and well-liked in the dressing room. 

This is not to say Jerred wasn’t skilled - you must be incredibly good at all aspects of your game to play regular minutes at that level - but Smithson never tried to be something his coach didn’t want him to be. He knew his role and he filled that role with pride and to the best of his ability.

This conversation is filled with lessons. Perseverance. Belief. Passion. Coachability. Accountability. Resilience. I know you’ll enjoy it.

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