Guest Speaker - Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith says that was fortunate to grow up in a Christian home where he saw the life and teachings of Jesus represented each day in his parents. He has been involved in hockey all his life. He began playing as a young boy in his hometown and throughout Eastern Canada, up through the youth hockey system and on into Juniour and Amateur levels. His involvement in hockey has carried on as a coach, having taught throughout Atlantic Canada and also in Montreal. He is currently the Head Coach of the Kennebecasis Valley High School Boys Hockey Team in Quispamsis, NB, a role he has played for the past four seasons.
Following high school and some university, he joined the Bank of Montreal launching a ten year banking career. He was transferred to Halifax in 1985 and it was there that he met the camp director for the Hockey Ministries summer camp in Moncton. Having never heard of HMI and being curious as to what the organization was all about, he attended the camp as a volunteer the next summer and caught the vision of HMI, a Christian organization committed to ministering to the hockey community through hockey camps, chapels, clinics, special events, videos and literature. Three years later, he recognized that God had directed his steps towards joining the HMI team and serving Him full-time through this organization.
In January of 1999, he accepted an offer to travel to Kuwait to become the first Head Coach of the Kuwait National Hockey Team. In February of that year, the team traveled to South Korea to compete in the Asian Winter Games as the first Arab nation ever to be represented in an international ice hockey tournament. The story of the Kuwait Ice Hockey Team was shared with millions having been picked up by the world media organizations, receiving coverage on USA Today, CNN, CBC Radio, and in Sports Illustrated, The Toronto Star, The National Post and other publications.
In February 2000, Bruce signed his first professional hockey contract and dressed for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League, farm team for the New York Rangers. During the 2001-2002 AHL season, he became the regular color-analyst for the Saint John Flames radio broadcast, which eventually led to doing the play-by-play in the 2002-2003 season. From 2007-2010, he served as the play-by-play for the Telus Webcast for Saint John Sea Dogs home games.
In the spring of 2002, he graduated from the University of New Brunswick, Saint John campus with a Bachelor of Arts (History) and in 2011 completed post-graduate studies with a Master of Arts (Religion) from Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC.
Bruce is currently serving as the Director for HMI Atlantic Division which also involves being the co-ordinator for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Maritime Junior A Hockey League Chapel Program, as well as bringing leadership to HMI’s Christian Hockey Camps International which are conducted across the United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. He also leads chapels with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
As a young man Bruce made a decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ, and when asked to reflect on his faith journey he said: “It has been wonderful, having worked in Montreal for seven years, and here in Saint John, NB for the past 15 years. We have seen God's hand guiding and providing over the 23 years that we have served Him through HMI.”
Bruce was deeply humbled by the invitation to speak at the 2012 Nova Scotia Leadership Prayer Breakfast and looks forward to the opportunity to share some of his incredible stories.
Bruce currently resides in Rothesay, NB with his wife of 30 years, Vicki. They have two children, Rebecca, 27, and Joe, 24.
