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.

Smail played eleven seasons with Winnipeg, being a top two-way player for them, as he had twelve consecutive seasons in which he scored at least one shorthanded goal, with 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.

After Smail's NHL career was over, he played three seasons in 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 three children. Smail was the Assistant Coach of the U-16 Team Rocky Mountain AAA Hockey program, where he coached alongside former NHL player Rick Berry last year, and is now the Head Coach of the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U-15 AAA squad.

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA Second Team	1979-80
All-NCAA 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)

Career statistics

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PM	PP	SH	GW		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977-78	University of North Dakota	WCHA		38	22	28	50	52	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1978-79	University of North Dakota	WCHA		35	24	34	58	46	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1979-80	University of North Dakota	WCHA		40	43	44	87	70	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1980-81	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		30	10	8	18	45	-7	1	3	1		—	—	—	—	—
1981-82	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		72	17	18	35	55	-22	2	1	1		4	0	0	0	0
1982-83	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		80	15	29	44	32	0	0	3	3		3	0	0	0	6
1983-84	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		66	20	17	37	62	-5	1	4	2		3	0	1	1	7
1984-85	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		80	31	35	66	45	+12	0	3	5		8	2	1	3	4
1985-86	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		73	16	26	42	32	-10	1	3	4		3	1	0	1	0
1986-87	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		78	25	18	43	36	+18	0	2	4		10	4	0	4	10
1987-88	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		71	15	16	31	34	+5	0	3	5		5	1	0	1	22
1988-89	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		47	14	15	29	52	+12	0	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1989-90	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		79	25	24	49	63	+15	1	1	6		5	1	0	1	0
1990-91	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		15	1	2	3	10	-6	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1990-91	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		57	7	13	20	38	-2	0	2	0		1	0	0	0	0
1991-92	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		46	10	18	28	47	-11	0	1	1		—	—	—	—	—
1992-93	Ottawa Senators	NHL		51	4	10	14	51	-34	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1992-93	San Diego Gulls	IHL		9	2	1	3	20	—	—	—	—		9	3	2	5	20
1993-94	Fife Flyers	Britain		53	74	65	139	114	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1994-95	Cardiff Devils	Britain		3	2	5	7	2	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1994-95	Fife Flyers	Britain		15	20	9	29	26	—	—	—	—		6	5	9	14	12
1995-96	Cardiff Devils	Britain		16	12	14	26	14	—	—	—	—		6	3	5	8	10
13 seasons	NHL career			845	210	249	459	602	-35	6	28	32		42	9	2	11	49

[ Source: Wikipedia ]