Andrew smith

Smith, a native of Kitchener, Ontario played one season at Plattsburgh NY State University followed by two seasons at the University of Waterloo before hanging up his skates for good as a player at the end of the 2015-16 season. The former right-winger started his officiating career when he was 14, working in the small rinks around his hometown of Kitchener. A product of the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association himself as a player, he was encouraged to give officiating a go in his early teens by league official and family friend Fernando Nogueira. “I knew he was always a strong skater and a good hockey player and I just threw it out to him,” said Nogueira to the Waterloo Region Record, who has also worked for the KMHA in various capacities for the past 33 years. There were a lot of 6am minor hockey games over the 12 years of his officiating journey to the NHL. His accession towards his dream job took a major step up in 2016 when he finally retired as a player and attended the NHL’s Officiating Amateur Exposure Combine in Buffalo that summer. His performance at the combine got him noticed and he was hired by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as a linesman where he first started on a part-time basis but, by the end of the season was selected to work the league final and also the Memorial Cup in Windsor. His hard work on and off the ice along with his passion for the game and his dedication towards officiating also got him a few assignments in the American Hockey League (AHL) that same year. Smith was hired in the summer of 2017 as a full time NHL Linesman.