Get to Know William Smith
3/31/2024 12:42:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Learn more about the forward from Toronto
Being from Toronto, Ontario, hockey was bound to be in Buckeye forward William Smith's life from day one. He started playing hockey at age three when his parents signed him up for Timbits hockey, a Canadian youth league. Timbits is where Smith fell in love with hockey, and he has never looked back.
Growing up, Smith's favorite hockey team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his favorite player was Alexander Ovechkin, making him also a Washington Capitals fan. As a fan of the Maple Leafs, Smith watches them frequently and tries to model his hockey after Morgan Rielly, who he shared he likes his style of game.
Smith played for the Scarborough Bandits until he was around 12 years old, when he then moved on to playing AAA hockey. He played for the Toronto Titans AAA team for a couple years before joining the OJHL with the Aurora Tigers. After the OJHL, Smith played for the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL, where he won the Clark Cup as the postseason champions. Smith was then traded from the Musketeers to the Omaha Lancers, playing there for half a year before coming to Ohio State.
During his time playing for the Toronto Titans, Smith shared it was where he developed the most and said, "I had some good coaches there that really helped me have fun with hockey." He went on to explain that his experience there was transformative and allowed him to truly love the sport of hockey.
Smith first visited Ohio State in May 2023. He said "It was everything I could have ever asked for. Coaches, staff, teammates, and just an unbelievable, unreal campus." He knew Ohio State was the right fit for him immediately and said, "It made my decision pretty easy."
Smith, a freshman in 2023-24, is currently majoring in communications and shared it's not easy to balance hockey with schoolwork and he needs to have good time management. He also explained that he has to do his work right when it is assigned, because he never knows when something hockey related can pop up or doesn't want to leave work for a game day.
After the hockey season, Smith enjoys going back home to Toronto to be with his family. He enjoys the variety of activities to do in his hometown, especially spending time riding his bike on the boardwalk and on bike paths near his home. He also shared a fun fact about himself is that he thinks he has a good sense of humor. He currently wears number 28, but for no particular reason, simply because in juniors number eight, which he wore growing up, was always taken so he decided to add the number two in front of it.
Smith is not only a defenseman fans enjoy watching, but a college student, who enjoys family time, biking and has a sense of humor. He is dedicated to his sport and is excited to play at Ohio State in this next chapter of his hockey career.
