Landon Smith Commits To DU In 2013

(above) Landon Smith
Forward Landon Smith (5'11 165 lbs) has committed to play college hockey at the University of Denver in the fall of 2013.

Landon played for the hometown Colorado Thunderbirds organization for the past three years playing on the U15 Midget Minor, U16 Midget Minor and U18 Midget Major teams. Smith has played in three USA National Championships with the Thunderbirds.

He was a member and captain of the 2010 Tier 1 U16 National Championship team, that won Colorado’s first Tier 1 hockey championship ever.

“Landon was a great leader for our championship team and is a young man that has not even come close to reaching his potential as a player. DU is getting a very special young man with a tremendous upside,” states Coach Ricci. “As a program, the Colorado Thunderbirds strive to prepare and produce young athletes that are ready to take the next step in their career. Landon is a fine example of the type of player that the Thunderbird program works to develop and move to the next level,” added Coach Ricci.

Smith was selected in the 5th Round of the USHL Draft May by Cedar Rapids and will be joining them this fall.  He is the third member from the U18 team to commit to play for the Pioneers.
2011 Recruiting Class
D Scott Mayfield (Youngstown, USHL)
F Zac Larraza (U.S. Under-18)
D Joey LaLeggia (Penticton Vees, BCHL)
F Larkin Jacobson (Janesville Jets, NAHL)
D-F Wade Bennett (Wichita Falls, NAHL)
F Matt Tabrum (Omaha, USHL)
D Josiah Didier (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
F Daniel Doremus (Sioux Falls, USHL)

2012 Recruiting Class
F Tyler Pham (Indiana Ice, USHL)
D Dakota Mermis (U.S. Under-18)
D Matt Van Voorhis (Sioux Falls, USHL)
F Garrett Allen (Chicago, USHL)
D Nolan Zajac (Cedar Rapids, USHL)

2013 Recruiting Class
F Brad Hawkinson (Colorado Thunderbirds U-18)
F Landon Smith (Colorado Thunderbirds U-18)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

How come there is all D's and F's by all the names? We need one or two with a G !!!

dggoddard said...

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders seem to have direct pipeline to DU. Their coach, Mark Carlson, was just named USHL coach of the year for a second time.

Landon Smith and Nolan Zajac will be on the Cedar Rapids roster next season. Recent alums include Josiah Didier, Paul Phillips and Matt Donovan.

Pioneers04 said...

I hope he fills out from that 165#, He'll need at least another 20-30 lbs to handle the WCHA I'll bet

Anonymous said...

So true 04... that (was) my biggest beef last year... not alot of muscle on DU. We have some bulky fellows coming in October, but overall, in general, Denver gets knocked around.. in my opinion. I think Brittain is one of the biggest guys on the team. We're good with the speed and flash, but we need some chunk too to handle teams like NoDak, Wisco, etc etc

Anonymous said...

It seems that most kids are now playing for the Thunderbirds, Rough riders, the DU, and on to the Show. great times for DU hockey

Anonymous said...

I have seen this kid play and he is something else, one of the top youth players in the country. DU is lucky to have committed Smith.