Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), are excited to announce that forward Connor Smith has announced his collegiate commitment to Union College!
Smith, who is in his first junior hockey season, is settling in nicely in Springfield and through 19 games he has 4 goals and 6 assists. He was named the NAHL’s Midwest Division Star of the Week for the week of September 13th-19th after he notched six points in four games at the NAHL Showcase.
The Hugo, MN native comes to the Jr. Blues after two seasons at Totino-Grace High where he registered 62 points in 44 games on 22 goals and 40 assists. He will join fellow Jr. Blues alum Fletcher Fineman, Caden Villegas, Joe Sharib, and Garrett Nietto who all currently play for the Union College Dutchmen.
“Connor is a hard worker and loves to compete,” said Head Coach Tyler Rennette. “He continues to grow each week and we look forward to seeing how much he is able to accomplish the rest of this season. Union is getting a phenomenal player.”
On Twitter, Smith announced his committment: “I’m excited and honored to announce my commitment to play Division 1 hockey and further my education at Union College. I’d like to thank my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have supported me along the way. #GoU!”
*UPDATE*: Smith finished the 2021-22 season with 13 goals and 20 assists in 58 regular season games while adding 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 playoff appearances. “Smitty” finished 6th in goals on the team, 4th in assists, and 5th in overall points (43). He was the third player to commit to a collegiate program this past season after Fisher Scott and Michael Valdez, but was succeeded by Hagen Moe (Bowling Green Univeristy), Joey Dosan (Army-West Point), Ethan Roberts (Univ. of St. Thomas), Mac Gadowsky (Army-West Point), and Tristan Shewchuk (College of St. Scholastica).
Congratulations, Connor!
