Former Edmonton Oilers captain Ryan Smyth made headlines on Tuesday, but not for reasons relating to the Oilers or even the NHL. Smyth is a part of the Class of 2020 who will be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. Smyth will enter alongside forward Alexei Yashin and defencemen Kimmo Timonen, Mark Streit and Mathias Seger in the players category.
Dubbed "Captain Canada" by Pierre LeBrun, after leading Team Canada to seven straight IIHF World Championships from 1999-2005, Smyth has built up quite the impressive international resume. He has played in each of the IIHF World Junior Championships, the IIHF World Championships, the Olympic Winter Games, the World Cup of Hockey and the Spengler Cup, winning several championships along the way. Smyth is also Canada's all-time leader in games played at the IIHF World Championships with 60 and sits 10th in points with 31. Ryan looks back on those times fondly, travelling the world and playing with some of the best players, the world over.
“It was amazing to play in the worlds as many times as I did and I was completely honoured each time they asked me. I just enjoyed the games,” said Smyth. “It was helpful that my wife and kids would support me. That time of the year, if you're not in the playoffs, you want to be there for your family so I was very lucky to have my family support me.
“The worlds are a great experience, from playing in those games to travelling the world. I gained a lot of respect for different countries and players from overseas. For them to leave that far to play in what we consider the best league in the NHL … well, I realized there are some great players from those countries.”
Smyth has always been a very humble person and a heart-and-soul type of player who knows how talented players from other countries are, even offering his insight as to what the conversations were like heading into games against the likes of Russia and Sweden, among others.
“For me, we sometimes think Canada is a benchmark and these other countries are thinking about ‘How can we beat Canada?'” Smyth says. “But we would have conversations about being ready for Russia, Finland and Sweden. And then, later on in my international career, it would be ‘Watch out for Germany or Switzerland.' It's just great how big the game has become all over the world.”
It's wonderful to see a player like Smyth receive the credit that he is due. They haven't built many like him. A veteran of almost 1300 NHL games, Smyth will take his rightful place among the international hockey legends when he is officially inducted in May during the 2020 IIHF World Hockey Championships, set to take place in Switzerland.
Congratulations to Ryan and his family on this remarkable and well-deserved achievement.
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