Doug Smail

Douglas Dean Smail (born 2 September 1957 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey left winger who played in the NHL for 13 seasons between 1980 and 1993.

Playing career
Doug Smail starred at the University of North Dakota for three seasons from 1977 to 1980, scoring 87 points in 40 games in his final season in the WCHA. His performance was enough to warrant notice from the Winnipeg Jets, and the next season he was a full-time NHL player. He had not been drafted by any NHL team.

Smail played 11 seasons with Winnipeg, being a top two-way player for them. In fact, Doug Smail had a streak of 12 consecutive seasons where he scored at least one shorthanded goal, and scored a total of 28 shorthanded goals in his career.

Perhaps Smail's greatest claim to fame was when he set the NHL record for fastest goal after the opening faceoff by scoring a goal five seconds after the game started on 20 December, 1981. Smail finished his career with the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators, but never achieved the success he had in Winnipeg.

He played in a total of 845 NHL regular season games, scoring 210 goals and 249 assists. In the playoffs, he played in 42 games with 9 goals and 2 assists.

After Smail's NHL career was over, he played 3 seasons in Great Britain for Fife Flyers and Cardiff Devils before retiring. He was the first player ever to sign for a British team directly from an NHL team when he signed for Fife Flyers from Ottawa Senators. He now resides in Colorado with his wife and 3 children. Smail now coaches the AA Hyland Hills hockey team.

Awards

 * Named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1980)
 * Named to the NCAA Championship Tournament MVP (1980)
 * Played in NHL All-Star Game (1990)
 * British Ice Hockey Writers Association Player of the Year (1994)

Records

 * Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career shorthanded goals (25)
 * Fastest goal to start an NHL hockey game (5 seconds)