As I noted this morning, it was hard to listen to Givani Smith retell the tale of the racism he endured during the Kitchener Rangers’ playoff run, in part because it was plain old wrong, and also because Smith is somewhat resigned to the fact that a black hockey player is going to endure what he’s had to endure.
The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Smith about the incidents…
Detroit Red Wings prospect Givani Smith was raised to be aware he’d encounter racism, but the abuse became too much after the April 29 Ontario Hockey League playoff game between his Kitchener Rangers and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. After his Rangers pulled out a 4-3 overtime victory, Smith, who is black, skated by the Greyhounds’ bench and extended a middle finger. Smith was suspended two games, and wound up finishing his junior career watching his Rangers lose Game 7.
“Definitely it was a tough way to go out my last year of junior,” Smith said Wednesday after Day 2 of development camp. “We had a really good playoff run — to work so hard, and the way I got suspended, it wasn’t ideal. Throughout the whole year and at the end of the season, it all built up in me. What happened at the end of the game, I wasn’t thinking and my emotions got the best of me.”
Death threats on social media prompted a security guard to be present as Smith watched the series finale from the pressbox in Sault Ste. Marie.
“It was for my safety, I was getting some rude comments over social media and stuff like that,” Smith said. “Better being safe, especially in a place really far from home.”
Smith continued, “it’s 2018, nobody needs to hear that stuff. It doesn’t happen often, but it happened. I was raised to be pretty mentally tough so it didn’t really faze me too much. Me and my brothers were all raised to be mentally strong — my dad told us when we were little, down the road, wherever you go, stuff may happen. It’s just how it is. We were prepared for it, so I think we handle it pretty well.”
As did the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa:
Smith said he got support from current and former NHL players, including two men who are black, the former NHL goaltender and current broadcaster Keven Weekes, and Joel Ward of the Sharks.
“Oh, yeah. I got a lot. A lot of them reached out to me and it made me feel really good,” Smith said. “All of the guys, because they’re all from the Toronto area. We’re all Toronto guys. They offered me a lot of advice. They said, well, they’ll come and talk, because I’m sure they all went through it.
“I’m sure I’m not the only black hockey player that’s been through it,” Smith said. “It happens, and I’m over it now. I’m here. It’s like the next chapter. I’m in camp.”
Smith is 6-2, 206 pound, and talks about using physical play “to create space for me and my teammates” in the same way as Gordie Howe explained why he took the rough-and-tough route.
“He’s going to be guy who is relied on to bring a physical presence, to open up space for him and his linemates,” said Ben Simon, head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, who is among the coaches at the Wings’ development camp. We’re expecting him to contribute offensively, as well. There’s high expectations from himself, and from the organization there is a lot to expect, as well.”
Update: As MLive’s Ansar Khan notes, the Red Wings’ coaches have nothing but good things to say about Smith:
Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff and his assistant, Daniel Cleary, watched most of Smith’s playoff games. Horcoff said he was outstanding.
“He’s an energy guy,” Horcoff said. “He’s good with good players because he can go in and win a puck. He’s good at getting the puck to skill and he goes to the net. That’s where he’s at his best. He’s also a guy that knows he needs a big summer because the level from just out here to camp and from camp to the regular season is a whole different step.”
Smith said he needs to work on his first three steps getting out of the zone. Griffins head coach Ben Simon likes the different dimension Smith brings with his size and physicality.
“Givani’s a big, strong kid,” Simon said. “We saw a little bit of what he can do two years ago in the spring when he came to Grand Rapids (as an extra). He’s focused a little more on developing his offensive instincts and getting pucks off the wall and taking them to the scoring areas. He’s a guy who’s going to be relied on to bring a little bit of a physical presence and create space for his linemates, but at the same time we’re expecting him to help contribute offensively. As a young guy coming into our league it’s tough. There’s high expectations from him on himself and then what the organization expects from him as well.”
