Rapids sign Wolves pick
Speedy centre Ryan Smith, an 11th round pick of the Sudbury Wolves at the 2018 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, has signed with the French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
French River president Paul Frustaglio confirmed the signing of Smith to Hockey News North.
The 5-foot-8, 140-pound Smith, who has a 2002 birth date, netted 11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points in 33 games for the North Central Predators of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association in 2017-2018.
Shawn Frappier, who is entering his first season as the head coach in French River, referred to Smith as a “smart, intelligent player and a strong skater with great ability to get the puck to his teammates.”
Smith, who hails from the small Muskoka Lakes town of Bala, has hockey roots traced to his dad, Eddie Smith.
The elder Smith was also an OHL draft pick of the Wolves as Sudbury’s eighth-round selection back in 1982.
A smooth-skating defenseman with offensive skills, Smith went on to play in 159 OHL games spanning three seasons.
Smith suited up for the Wolves, Windsor Spitfires and Soo Greyhounds and in total, had 25 goals, 54 assists, 79 points from his blue line post. He then played briefly in the American Hockey League before going the education route at the University of Windsor.