October 5, 2006
By BRUCE BERLET, Courant Staff Writer
Jordan Smith is not yet 21 but has already been forced to figure out a new path in life. He can't play hockey. That career ended Feb. 24 when he was hit in the left eye by a puck, an injury so severe that the eye had to be replaced by a prosthesis.
Smith, not wearing a visor when the puck broke the orbital bone, required emergency surgery. A few weeks later, the defenseman retired from the game he loved and has spent the past months at home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, fishing and taking history and psychology courses at Algoma University, a local community college.
Smith, a former Anaheim prospect, also spent a lot of time trying to answer the question: Why me? He didn't really come to a conclusion.
But the American Hockey League did. Four months after the injury, the league mandated protective visors for all players, joining the ECHL, Europe, college and juniors. Only the NHL and CHL don't require visors.
"I'm not going to stress about it," said Smith, a second-round pick of the Ducks in 2004. "Right now, the easiest explanation I can come up with is I wasn't meant to be a hockey player, as hard as that is to swallow. But I'm not going to settle for that. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and some day I'll figure it out."
AHL president and CEO Dave Andrews said mandatory visors had been discussed before, but Smith's injury while playing for Portland got the league to reconsider.
"Essentially every player that comes into our league has been wearing a visor, and the rationale for taking it off is a difficult one to support," Andrews said. "We did it for safety reasons, and it's difficult to accept the argument that a player's performance is hindered by wearing one. Some of the very best players in the world wear them, and the decision to take them off is a decision driven by peer pressure and establishing your toughness or lack of fear in a game that's a very tough game.
"But the research clearly shows - and you really don't even need research - that the likelihood of suffering a severe eye injury is significantly higher without a visor than it is with one. With the speed of the game, lighter sticks and the optics of visors being so much better, it seemed logical to make them mandatory."
Wolf Pack general manager and coach Jim Schoenfeld, who did not wear a helmet as a player, agreed with the move.
"It was a bold step, and I think a good step to take the decision out of the hands of the player," he said. "Anything we can do to protect our players is certainly a move in the right direction. One incident of that nature is too many. The last thing you want when kids are on your watch is for someone to get seriously hurt, so we had an opportunity to maybe protect the players better."
Certainly not everyone is in favor of visors, especially those who play a physical game.
"Common sense says it's a really good rule," said Smith, 6 feet 2, 220 pounds. "If it can save one guy, it's outstanding. I wouldn't want someone to have a career cut short the way I did, but I completely understand where those guys who hadn't worn a visor are coming from.
"I elected not to keep wearing one basically because of the tough, hard-nosed, in-your-face style I played. A lot of players have a warrior mentality, and getting cut and hit by sticks is just part of the game and you battle through it. Guys don't think about injuries. Some just don't want to wear a visor."
The Ducks will honor the last two years of Smith's three-year, $600,000 contract, pay for his schooling and said he can have a position in the organization when he's ready. His dream is to return to Portland to coach the Pirates. Toronto coach Paul Maurice, also a Sault Ste. Marie native and former coach of the Whalers, had his playing career ended because of an eye injury. An eye injury ended former Wolf Pack coach Ryan McGill's playing career, too.
"Since day one of the injury, the Ducks and Pirates have been just first class to me and my family, and I really appreciate that," Smith said.
It helps alleviate the pain.
"I think about it every day," Smith said. "Sometimes it'll upset you and sometimes you shake it off. But for the most part, you have to keep moving forward.
"There's a whole lot in life other than hockey, and that's one thing I've really focused on, just enjoying my time and my life this summer. Now it's back into a working mode and trying to get my feet wet in school again. Sometimes it's tough, but you just have to keep moving forward."
Smith, who turns 21 on Nov. 4, was invited to Portland for Friday night's opener against Worcester to help the Pirates raise the Eastern Conference regular season banner they won last season. Smith also plans to watch the Pirates host Providence Saturday before flying home Sunday.
"When they asked me to come, I told them I'd love to and would be honored," Smith said. "I told my sister it's going to be a little tough knowing I should be out there, but it is what it is as far as the situation I'm in and where my life's at. But rather than look at it in a negative way, I'm going to try to approach it as positive as I can.
"The hardest part is going to be leaving and dealing with how short the stay is. I love the Portland people. I love the city. I had a great time last season, and I'm just going to be positive and have as much fun as I can."
