Amateur Growing up in Brainerd, Minnesota, Smith became good friends with future
American Hockey League teammate
Mitch McLain. Despite their two-year age difference, they played youth baseball together and participated in the U10 Little League World Series. His coach Ron Stolski described him as "a player with a great work ethic, a quiet leader who leads by example, and a difference-maker." He was also three-year starter for the Brainerd ice hockey team and finished his career ninth on the Warriors’ all-time scoring list with 110 total points. In track, Smith won the triple jump for Brainerd's only first-place finish in the 2014 Wayzata Invitational. After graduating, Smith was selected in the 10th round of the United States Hockey League Draft by the
Sioux Falls Stampede.
Manitoba Junior Hockey League Smith participated in the Stampede's tryout sessions before the 2014–15 season but was cut before the roster was finalized. He subsequently joined the
Steinbach Pistons in the Canadian-based
Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) due to a family connection to the head coach. In his first season with the Pistons, Smith accumulated 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points over 38 games. Smith was recognized with the MJHL's Player of the Month of April honor after recording four goals and six assists through eight playoff games. Although numerous colleges had been interested in him, only UND extended him a 20 percent scholarship.
College Smith played
college hockey for the
North Dakota Fighting Hawks at the University of North Dakota from 2016 to 2020 while majoring in
kinesiology. As the Fighting Hawks qualified for the
National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Quarterfinals, Smith assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in their 6–5 overtime win over St. Cloud State in Game 2. Over the final six games of November, Smith was tied for the team lead in assists and led the team with a
plus-6 rating. On December 2, Smith tied
Ben Cherski's school record for fastest goal to start the third period after he scored seven seconds into the third period of a game against Western Michigan. On January 26, Smith was suspended one game following an illegal hit to the head of
University of Denver defenseman Adam Plant. Smith finished his sophomore season with a career-high five goals and five assists for 10 points. Smith finished his junior season with five goals and a career-high 11 assists for 16 points. He received the team's Cliff 'Fido' Purpur Award as a player who exemplifies hard work and determination and was named an
American Hockey Coaches Association Division I All American Scholar. Prior to the start of his senior year, Smith was named an assistant captain for the Fighting Hawks. including setting a record for most consecutive home wins at the
Ralph Engelstad Arena. Although the Fighting Hawks finished with the conference's regular-season title, they were unable to compete for the conference and national championships because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Nashville Predators Smith officially concluded his collegiate career on March 19, 2020, after signing a one-year contract with the
Nashville Predators of the
National Hockey League. Before joining the Predators' training camp for the pandemic-shortened, Smith was re-assigned to their
ECHL affiliate, the
Florida Everblades. He played five games with the Everblades in December 2020, tallying three points, before being recalled to join the Predators' training camp. Due to the unique nature of the season, Smith was named to the Predators "
taxi squad," a group of players who travelled with the team to enable swift call-ups in the event of positive COVID-19 cases. One day into the regular season, Smith was recalled to the active roster and made his NHL debut on January 14, against the
Columbus Blue Jackets. He recorded one shot on goal in 5:57 minutes of ice time in the Predators' 3–1 win. By making his NHL debut, Smith became the first former Pistons player to ever appear in an NHL game. This would be his only NHL game of the season as he was shortly thereafter assigned to the Predators
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Chicago Wolves, on January 21. Smith recorded his first career AHL points, a goal and assist, on February 20 in a 10–2 win over the
Iowa Wild. He later recorded his first professional two-goal game on April 17 against the
Rockford IceHogs, although the team would lose in a shootout. He finished the regular season with five goals and five assists for 10 points and 16 penalty minutes over 23 games. After attending the Predators 2021 training camp, Smith was re-assigned to their new AHL affiliate, the
Milwaukee Admirals, prior to the start of the
2021–22 season. On November 5, Smith scored his first goal as a member of the Admirals to help the team clinch a 2–1 win over the
Manitoba Moose and snap a four-game losing streak. Following this game, Smith added two-assist against the Iowa Wild for his first multi-point contest of the season. After tallying three goals and three assists over nine games with the Admirals, Smith was recalled to the NHL level on November 13. He was returned to the Admirals on November 20 after
Nick Cousins was activated from injured reserve. Upon returning to the AHL, Smith added two goals and four assists over the next 11 games for 12 total points before being recalled back to the NHL on December 16. He played that night against the
Colorado Avalanche and the following night against the
Chicago Blackhawks before being reassigned on December 18. Smith added five more points with the Admirals before earning his third NHL recall of the season on January 11. In his first game back with the Admirals on January 31, Smith scored twice to help lead the team to a 5–0 win over the
Grand Rapids Griffins. Leading up to his fourth NHL recall on February 14, Smith became the fifth member of the Admirals to reach double-digits in goals and ranked sixth on the team in points with 22. Smith's efforts with the Admirals helped lift them from last place in the Central division to third place. He scored his 20th goal of the season, and second in the game, on April 16 to help the Admirals qualify for the
Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2018–19 season. Over his eight NHL games of the season, Smith recorded 21 hits while averaging 8:50 minutes of ice time. He finished the AHL regular season with 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points over 59 games, the fourth most on the team. As a result of his play, Smith signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Predators on July 14, 2022. in November 2023. Smith began the
2022–23 season on the Predators opening night roster for the first time in his professional career. On October 7, Smith recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, in a 4–1 win over the
San Jose Sharks. On January 21, 2023, in his 49th NHL game, Smith scored his first career goal to lift the Predators 5–3 over the
Los Angeles Kings. Smith missed the final two weeks of the regular season to recover from the concussion, finishing with four goals and 13 assists for 17 points over 69 games. In his absence, the Predators fell three points shy of qualifying for the
2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. Smith began the
2023–24 season on the fourth line but was quickly bumped up onto a line with
Cody Glass and
Gustav Nyquist. In his first game on this line, Smith recorded an assist, two shots on goal, and four hits to lift the Predators over the
Seattle Kraken on October 12. On December 21, 2023, Smith scored his first career short handed goal against the
Philadelphia Flyers. On January 24, Smith signed a two-year, $2 million contract extension with the Predators. At the time, he had accumulated a career-high five goals and 13 assists for 17 points over 46 games.
Vegas Golden Knights During the season, having posted 10 points through 42 games, Smith was traded by the Predators to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Christoffer Sedoff and a 2028 third-round draft pick on March 3, 2026. Smith debuted for Vegas the following day, playing just over 14 minutes in a 4–3 overtime win against the
Detroit Red Wings. ==Career statistics==