Dave Smith was introduced as the C. Lloyd Bauer ’55 Endowed Men’s Varsity Ice Hockey Coach in April of 2017 after spending 12 years as the head coach at Canisius College.
The 2019-20 season was the best for the Engineers in several years as they earned 17 wins (17-15-2), including in each of their last four contests, captured the Mayor's Cup and garnered a bye through the first round of the ECAC
Hockey Playoffs following a fourth place finish (13-8-1). RPI never got the opportunity to play in the post-season because the tournament was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Numerous student-athletes earned post-season league recognition, including Will Reilly, who was All-League before signing an NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Smith himself was a finalist for ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.
The Engineers posted a 10-23-3 overall record, including 7-13-2 in ECAC Hockey play in 2018-19 with wins coming at nationally-ranked Cornell for the second straight season (3-2) and a sweep of the regular season series with rival Union.
In his first season in Troy, Smith led the Engineers to a 6-27-4 mark, including a 4-16-2 record in conference. He picked up first win on October 21, 2017 – an 8-3 victory at RIT. His first ECAC Hockey win came in dramatic fashion as the Engineers came back to defeat nationally-ranked Quinnipiac, 5-3. RPI came away with a 3-2 win at then-No. 1 Cornell in early February and later posted a victory in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, 1-0 at Colgate.
Highlights of his time with the Golden Griffins include three straight trips to Atlantic Hockey Championship weekend - the first time in school history - consecutive appearances in the title game and the team’s first crown in 2013.
Smith led Canisius to a 21-11-7 overall record in 2016-17, including an 18-4-6 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The team finished the regular season on a 17-game unbeaten streak (14-0-3) before falling in the conference semifinals.
During the 2012-13 campaign, Smith guided Canisius to the program’s first conference title with a 7-2 victory in the Atlantic Hockey Championship game and the team’s first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The Griffs finished 19th in the final USCHO.com national poll, marking the program’s highest finish in the national rankings.
Canisius nearly duplicated the feat the following two seasons, advancing to the 2014 Atlantic Hockey title game after eliminating the top two seeds in the conference tournament. The Golden Griffins took second in 2015 to match the program’s best regular season finish before making a third straight trip to the semifinals.
Throughout Smith's tenure with the Griffs, the hockey program consistently had the top GPA of any team at Canisius, including a 3.31 cumulative mark following the 2015-16 academic year.
Prior to his time at Canisius, Smith was an assistant coach at Bowling Green and Miami, where he coached or recruited two Hobey Baker Award finalists, four Players of the Year, two Rookies of the Year, 22 all-league award winners and three Terry Flanagan Award winners for perseverance. The Arthur, Ontario, native was also instrumental in guiding Mercyhurst to two league championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons.
Smith graduated from Ohio State University in 1992 with a Bachelor’s in journalism/public relations. He was a four-year letterwinner, a captain as a junior and the team’s MVP as a senior when he led the Buckeyes with 41 assists and 63 points. He finished his career with 140 points, ranking 14th all-time.
Smith spent six seasons in professional hockey, primarily in the International Hockey League, where he was part of a 1993 Turner Cup Championship with the Ft. Wayne Komets, and the American Hockey League, with a brief period in the East Coast Hockey League. He was under contract with the New York Rangers in 1994-95.
He has spent his summers coaching young players and adults as a director and head instructor at numerous camps across the United States and Canada.
He and his wife, Susan, have two daughters, Ellis and Kylie. Dr. Susan Smith is a lecturer in the Cognitive Science department at RPI. Ellis graduated from Manhattanville College with a double major of Psychology and Sport Studies while playing hockey for the Valiants. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Columbia University. Kylie is currently an occupational therapist in Raleigh, N.C. She graduated from Nazareth College with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Occupational Therapy. Kylie was a pitcher on the Golden Flyers softball team.
Updated November 2022
