Steady defenseman who battled injuries most of 2002-03 season ... will look to bounce back and take his regular spot on the Irish blue line ... suffered a concussion in Nebraska-Omaha series in early January and missed the remainder of the season ... has played in 55 games over two seasons with a goal and four assists for five points ... highly skilled defenseman who has excellent speed and good stickhandling skills ... physical defender who has good size to deliver solid hits along the boards and in front of the net ... will look to become more involved in the Irish offense as a junior ... played two seasons with USA Hockey's National Team Developmental Program (`99-'01) ... one of eight current and 13 all-time Notre Dame players who played for the NTDP ... played for both the USA Under-17 and Under-18 teams during his two seasons with the developmental program ... one of six Michigan natives on the Irish roster joining junior Rob Globke (West Bloomfield), sophomores Chris Trick (Troy) and Mike Walsh (Northville) and freshmen Jason Paige (Saginaw) and Josh Sciba (Westland) ... teammate of Globke's in 1998-99 when they played for the Compuware Ambassadors squad that won national junior A title ... verbally committed to the Irish in the fall of 1999 and signed his national letter-of-intent during the early signing period along with forwards Matt Amado and Brad Wanchulak ... one of 19 players from Michigan to letter with Irish hockey ... noteworthy Michigan natives who have played for the Irish hockey program include: Aniket Dhadphale (Marquette, `95-'99), All-American F Kirt Bjork (Trenton, `79-'83) and Jeff Logan (Grosse Point, `78-'82) - who served with current Irish head coach Dave Poulin as captains on '81-'82 squad that advanced to CCHA title game - plus 10th-year Irish assistant coach Andy Slaggert (Saginaw, '87-'89).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 18 of team's 20 games through Jan. 4 ... did not record a point while taking 19 shots on goal ... picked up four penalties for eight minutes ... was +5 on the season to tie Neil Komadoski for tops among Irish defensemen ... had a season-high four shots on goal versus Vermont in a 3-3 tie with the Catamounts ... injured in the second game of weekend series at Nebraska-Omaha on hit along the boards ... suffered concussion and the lingering effects that kept him out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.

AS A FRESHMAN: Played in 37 of team's 38 games scoring a goal with four assists for five points ... had 20 shots on goal and was -3 for the season ... whistled for 19 penalties for 46 minutes ... first career point was also his first career goal as he fired the rebound of a David Inman shot over Northern Michigan's Craig Kowalski at 12:33 of the second period to put the Irish ahead to stay in a 5-4 win at 10th-ranked Northern Michigan ... made breakout pass that started Brett Lebda on an end-to-end rush in 3-3 tie with Ferris State ... assisted on Rob Globke goal in 5-2 home win over Lake Superior ... saw his slapshot stopped by Princeton's Dave Stathos only to have rebound poked home by John Wroblewski on the power play to give Irish a 1-0 lead in 4-2 win over Princeton ... final assist came on a Connor Dunlop goal in 6-5 loss to Alaska Fairbanks ... did not score in four postseason games.

WITH USA HOCKEY: Lone player to join the Irish roster in 2000-01 from the National Team Development Program ... saw action in 48 games with the 2000-01 USA Under-18 National Team, scoring two goals with five assists for seven points and 46 minutes in penalties ... helped national team to a 36-25-0 record ...played in Under-18 World Championships in Finland where the team turned in a sixth-place finish ... as a member of the Under-17 Team in 1999-2000, played in 37 games on the blue line with four goals and eight assists for 12 points.

PREP & PERSONAL: Played on two national championship teams for Compuware ... `97-'98 helped Compuware's Bantam AAA team to title and in `98-'99 teamed with Rob Globke to help Compuware to Junior A title ... graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., while with the National Team Developmental Program ... son of Ronald and Patricia Smith ... full name is Derek George Smith ... born on April 2, 1983 ... finance major in the Mendoza College of Business.

Smith's Career Statistics

Smith's Career Bests

1 Point

1 Goal

1 Assist

4 Shots on Goal