Junior Oilers national U18AAA champion Smith returning home to join Griffins after 34 NCAA games
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Bringing valuable NCAA experience to the fore, the first announcement in Griffins head coach Chris Leeming's 2026 recruiting class has great potential to be an impact forward right off the bat in Canada West.
Paige Smith dressed in 34 of Bemidji State's 36 games last season a year after playing for Leeming on Team Alberta at the National women's U18 championship.
Now the Gibbons, Alta. product, who helped the Edmonton Junior Oilers win the 2025 Esso Cup national championship, is returning home to play for the Griffins in 2026-27.
"Paige is someone who will undoubtedly fit into our team identity and be able to contribute all 200 feet of the ice as she competes on both sides of the puck and is a great teammate," said Leeming. "She is highly competitive, has a scoring touch and will bring many intangible pieces to our team with her experience playing against top players in the country."
Smith represented Team Alberta at the 2023 Canada Winter Games and both the 2023 and 2024 national championships. Leeming coached the latter two.
"She's a great kid," said Leeming. "I've gotten to know her through the time with Hockey Alberta. I'm excited to have her join and just help build the group.
"She wanted to be closer to home, we saw an opportunity with our program, and she has the familiarity with me and liked the coaching style when we had the opportunity to work together. So, those are some big factors. She's got a couple friends on the team, as well."
Smith had an assist and 28 shots in 34 NCAA games last year, playing centre for the first time in her career. Leeming notes the biggest measurement of what she meant to the team was how many games she played in her rookie season.
"She went there for a reason; she was recruited to that level because she's a very strong player and has the acumen that she could go to that level and compete," he said. "I think that was represented by her playing in almost every game her first year there."
Smith played two U18AAA seasons for the St. Albert Slash, racking up 34 points in 43 games from 2022-24.
During her final minor hockey campaign in 2024-25, she was seventh in scoring on the powerhouse Junior Oilers with 24 points in 18 games, helping them finish 27-0-1 during the regular season before they won the national championship.
"She's just a pretty well-rounded player that's strong with and without possession," said Leeming. "She plays physical, she's in your face, she's got a little bit of a scoring touch and can contribute when she gets opportunities.
"She just doesn't shy away from the dirty areas of the ice. That's a big theme with this recruit class. They're a pretty gritty group and they like to get in there, muck and they don't shy away from the corners and the net front. That's how a lot of their offence was generated."
Look for more women's hockey recruit announcements soon.
