FRISCO, Texas — Two seasons ago Gemel Smith was watching the Idaho Steelheads battle the Allen Americans from the loge level at the Allen Events Center.
It was a frustrating time for Smith, who was stuck as an injury scratch in the ECHL with a shoulder injury.
He knew was going down the wrong path. After a somewhat promising start to his career he was falling deeper on the AHL depth chart and his lack of production had led to an ECHL demotion.
Today, almost two years later, Smith was in the Dallas Stars locker room in Frisco fielding questions about being named to the NHL opening night roster.
Smith, now 23, looks at that trip to the ECHL when he was 21 as a wake-up call. It saved his career and stuck with him as a motivating factor during the Stars training camp.
“I definitely don’t let it go, I definitely keep it in the back of my mind,” Smith said. “What I did to to go down there, and what not to do and things like that, I definitely don’t let it go. If you let it go you get complacent, I let it stay with me. I always have in the back of my mind what I have to do not to go back there.”
And for Smith it wasn’t an on-ice issue he had to overcome.
“Looking back I grew up a lot. For me it was definitely a maturity thing,” Smith said. “I thought that my skill and stuff would kind of take me.”
Like many young hockey players his talent and speed were enough for most of his life. Like most future pro hockey players, he was always one of the best players on the ice and didn’t have to put in extra work — even in the OHL where Smith was a lethal power play specialist with the Owen Sound Attack and the London Knights.
But Smith’s off-ice habits caught up with him during his rookie season with the Texas Stars during the 2014-15 season. He didn’t know how to feed himself and ate poorly. He didn’t put in extra work in the gym, and his general immaturity hurt the results on the ice.
“I wouldn’t say I was a horrible player, but I wasn’t able to keep my speed for a whole period or a whole game,” Smith said. “I think a lot came from eating habits, I wasn’t fit enough to kind of go with the game style or the play. Now that I’m able to do that, I’m able to be in spots quicker, defend faster, defend stronger, things like that.”
Smith’s younger brother has also been a motivating factor.
Givani Smith was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2016 and looks like the older brother. While Gemel stands in at 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, Givani is physical specimen at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds and at 19 is already built like a pro.
The Smith brothers lived and worked out together this summer. During that time Gemel often followed Givani’s example in the weight room.
“He’s a real hard worker, he’s actually really fit. He’s actually more mature right now than I was two years ago,” Smith said. “It sounds bad. But I kind of watched him and how he does things and it helped me.”
Smith knows that the hard work isn’t done. On Tuesday he was the last player off the ice after practice and he’s doing his best to prove to the Stars made the right decision including him on the opening night roster.
“He has the necessary speed to play in the National Hockey League, whether Gemel can keep up from the tenacity standpoint, time is gonna tell,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He knows that the leash is short, but he can really lengthen it by his competitiveness and we’re going to give him that opportunity right off the bat.”
And it seems Smith is ready for that challenge.
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