Published: May 11, 2026 · Slapshot Diaries Editorial
Doug Smith was the second overall pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, taken by the Los Angeles Kings one spot ahead of Ron Francis. He was supposed to be the franchise centre Los Angeles had needed for a decade. He played 535 NHL games across nine seasons and four teams. He never quite became the star his draft position implied, but he had a sustained pro career as a useful two-way centre, and his post-playing life as a junior hockey coach has lasted longer than his NHL career. When fans search "Doug Smith hockey" today, they're usually looking for one of three things — and this page covers all three.
There are three Doug Smiths frequently searched in the context of hockey: the 1981 draft pick who is the main subject of this profile; Doug Smith the long-time Vancouver Canucks play-by-play broadcaster; and a handful of minor-pro/coaching figures who share the name. This page focuses on the player. The broadcaster is covered briefly in the Legacy section below.
The Los Angeles Kings used the second overall pick of the 1981 NHL Draft on Doug Smith, an Ottawa-born centre who had produced 173 points in 58 games with the Ottawa 67's of the OHL in 1980-81. He was supposed to be the Kings' answer to a decade of inconsistent centre play. Behind him at #1 was Dale Hawerchuk (Winnipeg); just after him at #3 came Bob Carpenter (Washington), then Ron Francis at #4 to Hartford — a draft class that produced multiple Hall of Famers.
Smith stepped into the NHL immediately as an 18-year-old. He played 80 games in his rookie season, scoring 16 goals.
Across four seasons in Los Angeles (1981-85), Smith was a steady but unspectacular contributor — 21 goals in 1982-83 was his career high. He never developed into the offensive force the #2 pick implied. The Kings traded him to Buffalo in 1985, where he played a defensive role.
His most notable career stretch came in 1987-88, when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and won a Stanley Cup as a depth centre. (His name is on the Cup as a member of the Oilers championship roster, though he played a limited role in the playoffs.) He finished his NHL career in Vancouver in 1988-89.
Smith played briefly in Europe, then returned to Canada and started coaching junior hockey in his hometown. He has spent over two decades as a coach and player-development figure in the Eastern Ontario junior system — far longer than his playing career.
Asked once whether he considered himself a disappointment as a #2 overall pick, Smith said: "I played 535 NHL games. That's a career. The expectations of being picked second were never mine — they were the team's. I had a good run, I won a Cup, I'm in hockey for life. That's the dream."
Doug Smith the Vancouver Canucks play-by-play broadcaster is a separate person from the 1981 draft pick. The broadcaster spent over 30 years as the radio voice of the Canucks before retiring in 2009, and he is occasionally confused with the player Doug Smith in search results. The broadcaster's career, while not the focus of this profile, deserves its own coverage as one of the most distinguished hockey broadcasting careers in Canadian sport.