Denis Smirnov Season 2016-17

CAREER NOTES & RECORDS

Career: Finishes his career No. 5 on the Penn State all-time points list with 115 while his 50 goals and 65 assists rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in program history…He is one of just four players all-time at the time of his graduation to hit the 50 goal mark at Penn State...His 10 career game-winning goals are the most in program history while his 13 power-play tallies are tied for first...His 27 multi-point games tie for the third-most in a career all-time as a Nittany Lion.

Season: As a freshman in 2016-17, Smirnov registered 47 points which were the most by any first-year player in the nation and at the time was the single-season Penn State standard, but now ranks No. 2 all-time…His 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points remain program single-season records for freshmen while his 28 assists that season are also the most by any Penn State player in a single-season and his 19 goals are the fourth most all-time in a single-season.

Game: Smirnov is one of just nine players in Penn State history to score a hat-trick and one of just three players with a penalty shot goal during his career in Hockey Valley…His 10-game point-streak to begin his career is also the longest such streak in program history.

2019-20 • SENIOR SEASON

Awards: 2019-20 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Season: Skated in 31 games scoring eight goals while adding 11 assists for 19 points...2020 Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sacred Heart (10/11): Collected a pair of assists in an 8-2 opening night win. Alaska (10/17): Registered a goal and two assists in a 7-0 shutout, making him the 5th member of the programs 100-point club. Wisconsin (10/31): Scored a goal in the series opener to help lead Penn State to a 6-1 victory. Michigan State (11/9): Recorded a goal in a 6-4 win. at Minnesota (11/15-16): Added an assist in the series opener and registered a goal and an assist in game two to help secure the series sweep. Ohio State (11/22-23): Notched an assist in each game of the series. at Merrimack (11/29): Scored a goal in a 7-0 shutout. at Michigan (12/7): Scored a goal and added an assist in a 3-1 victory to help the Nittany Lions split the series. at Notre Dame (12/13): Recorded a goal in a 4-2 triumph. at Robert Morris (1/11): Added an assist in a 6-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena. at Ohio State (2/7-8): Tallied an assist in Friday night's 2-2 tie and scored a goal in Saturday night's 6-3 win.

2018-19 • JUNIOR SEASON

Awards: Named an Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Season: Skated in 37 games scoring eight goals while adding 14 assists for 22 points.

Niagara (10/20): Tallied one assist during a 4-1 victory. No. 13 Princeton (10/26): Registered his first goal of the season during a 4-2 win. Arizona State (11/2-11/3): Recorded one assist in game one and one goal in game two during a weekend split. Robert Morris (11/9-11/10): Registered one assist in both games during a weekend sweep. No. 16 Michigan (11/16): Assisted a goal during a 6-4 loss. At No. 5 Ohio State (11/23): Notched the game-winning goal during a 4-3 victory. No. 5 Notre Dame (12/7-12/8): Recorded one goal in game one and one assist in game two of a weekend split. at Minnesota (1/4): Recorded the game-winning goal during a 4-2 victory. Michigan State (1/12): Added an assist during a 6-4 setback. No. 4 Ohio State (1/18): Assisted a goal in a 4-1 loss. at Michigan (1/24): Recorded one assist during a 5-1 loss. Minnesota (2/9): Assisted a goal during a 6-2 win. at Michigan State (2/15): Tallied one assist during a 5-3 loss. Wisconsin (2/22): Marked a career-high with four points on two goals, including the game-winning goal, and two assists during an 8-2 victory. at Notre Dame (3/1): Scored a goal in a 5-4 loss. Wisconsin (3/10): Collected one assist during a game three victory in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
2017-18 • SOPHOMORE SEASON

Awards: A 2017-18 Academic All-Big Ten… Named the NCAA First Star of the Week and the Big Ten Second Star on December 12, 2017, after a five-point weekend during a sweep of Robert Morris.

Season: Skated in 30 games, leading the team with 15 goals while adding 12 assists for 27 points.

at St. Lawrence (10/7): Registered a goal and a pair of assists in a 4-1 win. at No. 7 Minnesota (10/13-10/15): Notched a goal and added an assist in a game-one victory and recorded a goal in game two. AIC (10/19-10/20): Registered a goal and an assist in game one and collected a pair of assists in game two of a weekend split. Michigan (10/27): Scored a goal during a 5-4 victory. At No. 11 Ohio State (12/2): Notched a goal during a 4-0 shutout. Robert Morris (12/9): Tied his career-high with four points (2 goals, 2 assists) during a 7-4 victory. No. 6 Ohio State (1/12): Notched a goal and recorded an assist in a 5-2 win. at No. 18 Wisconsin (1/26-1/27): Scored three goals over the weekend including a pair of goals in the series finale. at Michigan State (2/16): Assisted a goal in a 4-2 loss. No. 8 Minnesota (2/23-2/24): Notched a goal and registered an assist during a weekend sweep. No. 11 Minnesota (3/2): Registered a goal and an assist in a 5-3 game one victory during the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
2016-17 • FRESHMAN SEASON

Awards: Named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team.

Season: Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round (156 overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft… Led the team with 13 multi-point games and had a plus-24 rating…Skated in all 39 games scoring 19 goals while adding 28 assists for 47 points…Set a Penn State single-season record for points and assists with 47 and 28, respectively...Registered a Penn State single-season freshman record for goals with 19 as well as records for assists and points.

Rankings: Led the entire nation in freshman scoring with 47 points ranking 11th overall and third in the Big Ten…His 28 assists were the second-most across the nation by a freshman and tied for 21st overall and third in the Big Ten while his 19 goals were the fourth-most in the nation for a first-year player and tied for fifth in the Big Ten overall and first for freshmen.

No. 16 St. Lawrence (10/6-10/7): Collected an assist in each game during an opening weekend split. at Mercyhurst (10/14): Scored his first collegiate goal during a 7-0 victory. at No. 3 Notre Dame (10/21-10/22): Collected a pair of assists during a 3-3 overtime draw in game one before assisting on the game-winning score in overtime during a 3-2 victory the following night. Canisius (10/28-10/29): Scored a goal and registered an assist on the game-winning goal during a 4-1 victory in game one before scoring the game-winning goal during a 4-2 victory to complete the sweep the following night. Niagara (11/3-11/3): Scored two goals and an assist in game one and had three assists in game two during a weekend sweep. Alaska Anchorage (11/11): Tallied two assists in a 6-3 win. Arizona State (11/18): Registered a hat-trick during a 7-4 win. Arizona State (11/18-11/19): Recorded one goal and one assist in game two during a weekend sweep. No. 20 Michigan (12/1-12/2): Tallied three assists in game one and recorded a goal and an assist in game two of a weekend sweep. at No. 11 Ohio State (1/7): Collected an assist during a 4-2 victory to set a new Penn State freshman point record. Michigan State (1/14): Scored a goal in a 5-3 win. at No. 17 Wisconsin (2/10-2/11): Tallied a goal during a 6-3 victory in game one before registering a pair of goals and a pair assists the following night to complete the sweep. No. 5 Minnesota (2/17-18): Had three assists in game one and two goals including a third-period penalty shot in game two of a weekend series. at Michigan State (2/25): Registered a power-play tally during a 4-1 victory. Wisconsin (3/3):  Tallied three assists in a 6-0 victory. Michigan (3/16): Registered an assist during a 4-1 victory in game one of the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota (3/17): Assisted on the game-winning goal in double-overtime during a 4-3 victory in the Big Ten semifinals. NCAA Tournament (3/25-3/26): Had a goal in each game against Union and No. 1 Denver.

BEFORE PENN STATE
Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round (156th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft...Played two seasons for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League scoring 47 goals and adding 54 assists for 101 points in 113 games played...Named USHL Forward of the Week three times...Tied the USHL individual goal-scoring record with four goals in a single game...Was a second-team All-USHL selection following the 2015-16 campaign.

PERSONAL
Denis Anatolyevich Smirnov...Son of Elena and Anatoly Smirnov...Has two older sisters Yulia and Kristina...Majoring in communications arts and sciences...Born on August 12, 1997 in Moscow, Russia.