Jeff Smith's road through hockey has been a long and winding one, and now at last it's led back home.

The Estevan Bruins have officially added the former pro to their coaching staff as an assistant coach. Smith brings over 15 years of professional hockey experience in leagues from Philadelphia to the Netherlands to Australia, in addition to his time in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels. 

Smith was born in Estevan, however, and although he grew up in Regina, he's got deep ties to the Energy City and had no hesitation returning to it.

"Being born here I've kind of always bled black and gold," Smith said. "Dad played for them growing up and this year I got connected with Chris Lewgood as we were friends in high school."

According to Smith, he and Lewgood met at a AAA tournament in Calgary, a meeting that, unbeknownst to him at the time, his family members had set up.

"Family members of mine talked to Chris and said I was going to be in Calgary, so we met up," said Smith. "He said hey, come down and see what you think. I came down the Kindersley weekend and loved what I saw."

Smith was especially impressed with the Bruins facility at Affinity Place. As a player who spent four seasons with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels, Smith is well familiar with junior hockey. He scored 22 goals as a Rebel in 2000-2001 and won a memorial cup with Red Deer that year.

"That team is one of a kind," Smith said of the squad that summitted junior hockey's highest mountain. "We were good. We had everything, confidence, goal scorers. I think we had seven guys go right to the NHL after that Memorial Cup Year. I couldn't have asked for a better experience, especially having grown up in Regina and winning it in Regina. That was phenomenal."

That Red Deer Rebels team included future NHLers Jim Vandermeer, Boyd Gordon, Colby Armstrong, Cam Ward, and Martin Erat among others. The next year, the Rebels also had future NHLer Dion Phaneuf on the back end. 

It wasn't the last time Smith played alongside future NHL stars. In 2005, he spent 41 games with the Philadelphia Phantoms, who ultimately won the AHL championship that year. That team included a slew of names familiar to NHL fans, including Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and Patrick Sharp.

Smith's pro career took him overseas to England, France, Denmark, Netherlands, and even a non-traditional hockey market that's growing into a hotbed, Australia.

"They had one or two games a month that they would televise," Smith recalls. "It was just starting to get bigger and bigger."

"I loved it. It's an experience and the hockey is actually pretty good. I was struggling to keep up in my old age down there."

Australian hockey didn't lack for fans either, according to Smith. "They'd be three quarters full, almost every arena," he said. "It's got a small cult following down there, which hopefully will get bigger and bigger."   

Now, with a long and championship-filled pro career behind him, Smith looks to take the lessons he learned over 25 years and pass them on to the Estevan Bruins. According to him, they've been very willing to learn. 

"They're all great kids, every one of them from goalies to defense to forwards," said Smith. "They're all willing to work hard and have fun, and the one thing I like about them is they're not afraid of hard work. They're not afraid to go on the ice early or go to the gym after or do extra stuff in the community. It's a show of their character."

Smith is working mainly with the defence right now, making little tweeks to their games.

"Their footspeed, their gap control," Smith said, describing what he tries to help players with. "Small things that I notice.

"I've seen improvements, for example, in King-Cunningham's game," he added. "I told him one thing, 'Hey, maybe try this,' and it's been a week since I told him and now he's consistently doing it the right way. The kids are sponges. Everything you tell them, they soak it up and run with it."

The Bruins will have plenty to soak up from the former pro as they head into the stretch drive. Estevan has nine remaining regular season games and then the playoffs, and they'll be able to draw on the wisdom of one of hockey's most experienced, travelled players for the duration of it.

The full interview with Smith is below.