After leading the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team to a .925 winning percentage over 18 seasons, former head coach Dave Smart, has joined the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Ottawa Senators as a consultant.
According to a report by TSN’s Ian Mendes, Smart has accepted a position that will put him in close proximity with new Senators head coach D.J. Smith.
Smith told TSN that he was encouraged by Smart’s ability to work with young athletes and knew it could be useful for dealing with the young, rebuilding Senators.
Smart, who moved to the role of director of basketball operations for the Ravens, now joins the Senators on a day-to-day basis after having interacted yearly in the past by speaking at the team’s annual rookie camp in July.
Taffe Charles replaced Smart as the head coach of the Ravens men’s basketball team in advance of the 2019-2020 season.
Charles, who has worked with Smart at Carleton since 1997, said that the Senators are gaining access to a valuable and knowledgeable perspective on athlete psychology.
“Obviously, Dave knows winning,” said Charles. “He knows those guys at that certain age group, 18-to-25, 26. I mean, he’s been working in that space for a long time, and [knows] how to get those guys motivated.”
Along with his renowned fiery, demanding presence, Smart brings a winner’s pedigree to a Senators team that finished dead-last in the 2018-2019 NHL season.
Under Smart’s management, the Ravens won 14 national championships, the most recent coming in 2019 with a win over the University of Calgary Dinos.
Smart, who told TSN that he played Triple-A hockey up to the age of 15, also serves as an assistant coach for his two boys’ hockey teams.
Feature image by Tim Austen.
