John Smrke (born February 25, 1956) is a Canadian-born American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who played 103 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

between 1977 and 1980. Smrke was born in

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and raised in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. His father was former NHLer

Stan Smrke Stanko Smrke (September 2, 1928 — April 14, 1977) was a Yugoslavian-born Canadian ice hockey forward. He played 9 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1956–57 and 1957–58 seasons. The rest of his care ...

. He lived in Toronto while his father played in Rochester, and would occasionally visit during the season. As a youth, Smrke played in the 1969

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with the Scarboro Lions

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

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Hockey Draft Central
1956 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers American people of Serbian descent American people of Slovenian descent Anglophone Quebec people Binghamton Whalers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Slovenia Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian people of Slovenian descent Cincinnati Tigers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Houston Apollos players Kansas City Blues (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Rochester, New York Ice hockey people from Saguenay, Quebec Quebec Nordiques players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players San Diego Mariners draft picks St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Syracuse Firebirds players Toronto Marlboros players American expatriate ice hockey players in Italy 20th-century Canadian sportsmen {{Canada-icehockey-winger-1950s-stub