Austin Smith Bound For Boise

Austin Smith (Credit: Steven Christy)

In a somewhat expected move, the Stars assigned forward Austin Smith to the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads today. Smith was called up immediately following the end of the NHL lockout and played in 12 games since that point and 16 overall this season. Smith has fallen out of the regular lineup and has not played since February 12th against Houston.

The rookie winger has some notable size issues on the ice and tends to get bumped off the puck easily. Smith is a goal scorer at heart and needs to get minutes to do that and continue to grow his game. He certainly isn't getting those minutes in Cedar Park.

Here's the release:

The Texas Stars, proud American Hockey League affiliate of the Dallas Stars, announced today that Dallas has reassigned right wing Austin Smith from Texas to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL.

Smith, 24, has been recalled to Texas four times this season and has appeared in 16 AHL games for the Stars, posting three points (2 goals, 1 assist) and 6 penalty minutes. The Dallas, Texas native returns to Idaho where he has played in 23 ECHL games this year, recording 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists), a +17 plus-minus rating and averaging 1.30 points-per-game. Smith has appeared in 28 career AHL games for Texas over the last two seasons, tallying six points (2 goals, 4 assists) and 14 penalty minutes. He was Dallas’ fifth round selection (128th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.