 Internationally Smith represented the Canadian national team at the 1977 and 1979 World Championships.A stay-at-home defenceman who was selected by the California Golden Seals in the 1975 NHL Draft, Smith followed the franchise when it relocated to Cleveland in 1976, and when it folded in 1978 and merged with the Minnesota North Stars, where his rights were protected by the North Stars in the 1978 Cleveland-Minnesota Dispersal Draft.He played for Minnesota for three seasons, and his solid defensive play would help guide them to the finals in 1981.