Playing Career
Born in Brandon, Manitoba, Smart played junior hockey in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Portage Terriers for two seasons. In 1937–38, joined the senior ranks with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association and scored 23 points in 12 games at a goal-per-game pace. The following season, he began a three-year stint in the Montreal City Hockey League (MCHL) with the Verdun Maple Leafs and Montreal Sr. Canadiens.
In 1941–42, Smart moved with the Sr. Canadiens to the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL). Affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, Smart was called up to the NHL in 1943 and, on January 14, became the first player in league history to score a hat trick in his NHL debut (this feat was later matched by Réal Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques in 1979, Fabian Brunnström of the Dallas Stars in 2008, and Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers in 2010). He completed the season with 5 goals and 2 assists in 8 games – the lone NHL stint of his career.
Smart spent the remainder of his career in the QSHL with the Montreal Royals and Ottawa Senators with the exception of one more season in the MCHL with the Montreal Vickers and the final season of his career in the OVHL with Eastview St. Charles. He recorded a career-high 66 points in 47 games with the Senators in 1947–48, then helped the club to an Allan Cup in 1949 as Canada's senior amateur champions. Smart retired after the 1950–51 season spent with Eastview.
Read more about this topic: Alex Smart
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