Madison native Smith drafted by Nashville Predators
June 27, 2009 | Men's Hockey
Craig Smith, a native on Madison, Wis., was the lone person associated with the Wisconsin men's hockey program drafted at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, continuing a streak of 12 consecutive seasons a Wisconsin Badger has been selected.Smith will begin his first hockey season at Wisconsin in the fall.
Smith, ranked No. 177 among North American skaters before the draft by NHL Central Scouting, went in the fourth round as the 98th overall pick by the Nashville Predators. The Predators own the rights to UW co-captain Blake Geoffrion and have former Badger Ryan Suter on the current roster.
The highest-rated incoming player, John Ramage, went undrafted. The defenseman was ranked No. 97 by NHL Central Scouting. Also going undrafted was current Badger forward Jordy Murray. Murray was ranked at No. 175 by Central Scouting.
Smith comes off a stellar season in the USHL. A leader for Waterloo, Smith posted 28 goals and 76 points in 54 games to lead the Black Hawks during the 2008-09 season and share second in the league among all skaters. He also stood out at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge, where he was one of six players named to the tournament all-star team after collecting three goals and eight points in five games as team captain. The team won the tournament's gold medal. Prior to playing for Waterloo, Smith skated for Madison La Follette High School.
Wisconsin will have 12 players on its 2009-10 roster drafted by NHL teams with the addition of Smith. Incoming defenseman Justin Schultz (Anaheim) and goaltender Brett Bennett (Phoenix) have already been drafted, as well as current Badgers Blake Geoffrion (Nashville), Chris Hickey (Minnesota), Ryan McDonagh (Montreal), Brendan Smith (Detroit), Podge Turnbull (Los Angeles), Jake Gardiner (Anaheim), Cody Goloubef (Columbus), Derek Stepan (New York Rangers) and Patrick Johnson (Montreal).
