By Fred Liggett
FredL@lstribune.net

Mavericks fans may want to write the number 15 down when they enter the home of the Mavericks the rest of the season. #15 now belongs to Danny Smith who has very quickly made his presence known in the ECHL.

The first year pro spent last season at RIT, otherwise known as Rochester Institute of Technology. Smitty as his new teammates call him is a BIG fan of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Danny claims to be a “pretty big football fan” who followed the Bills the last 4 years while he was in school at RIT. Smitty’s hometown is Edmonton, Alberta Canada.

Despite the distance both of his parents came down to watch him play the weekend of January 19-21 to see Danny play in his first pair of ECHL hockey games. Smitty didn’t disappoint them as he scored his first ECHL goal with the Mavericks on Saturday January 20th in a win over first place Toledo. Danny says about the first period goal “Nice to get that out of the way.” “No more stress over it.”

Smitty’s favorite hockey memory so far is while a sophomore at RIT his team won a conference title. In addition to that his team advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year. When they got there RIT was a #16 seed, but get this, RIT beat a #1 seed, Minnesota-Mankato which made NCAA hockey history. Danny first put on a pair of skates at the age of 4.

If not in pro hockey today Smitty would be using his finance degree. While on the team bus he likes to watch Netflix to kill time. Danny’s favorite sports movie is “Happy Gilmore.” Following his playing days he wishes to be remembered as a hard worker, “a smart player out on the ice.” His favorite part of the KC area so far is BD’s Mongolian BBQ which is located near the arena.

Check out this impressive newcomer and the rest of the Mavericks when they host the Cincinnati Cyclones on Sat. Feb. 3rd. The fun begins when the puck drops at 7:05 inside the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.