Twenty great goal-scorers down and 20 to go! We start the second half of our Chicago Wolves Top 40 Countdown, presented by Jewel-Osco, with a young man from Oregon who made an instant impact at 20 years of age.
Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman joined the Wolves in 2006 after a stellar career with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — one he capped by scoring the final goal in the Remparts’ 2006 Memorial Cup championship game triumph over the favored Moncton Wildcats.
Lavallee arrived in Chicago at the same time as several other offensive-minded players — Darren Haydar, Jason Krog and Brett Sterling among them — and he produced 16 goals and 18 assists in 79 games for the highest-scoring team in Wolves history. Once in the postseason, the Corvallis, Oregon, native tied Sterling for second on the team with 7 goals in 14 games as the Wolves reached the Western Conference Finals.
The next year, Lavallee ranked fifth on the squad with 20 goals as the Wolves dominated the AHL from start to finish and earned the 2008 Calder Cup. The Atlanta Thrashers’ fourth-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft also worked his way to the NHL and scored his debut goal on April 1, 2008, against longtime NHL netminder Craig Anderson.
Lavallee spent one more season with the Wolves and posted 19 goals in 64 games — bringing his career totals to 55 goals and 52 assists in 219 regular-season games. He shares 30th place on the Wolves’ all-time points list with 107.
He has continued to play the game he loves and, at 34 years old, can be found on the roster of the Esbjerg Energy in Denmark. When play begins, it will mark his ninth season overseas.
Want to enjoy more of the countdown?
No. 40: Gage Quinney
No. 39: Tim Breslin
No. 38: Nathan Oystrick
No. 37: Ben Simon
No. 36: Curtis McKenzie
No. 35: Kamil Piros
No. 34: Mark Mancari
No. 33: Simon Gamache
No. 32: Guy Larose
No. 31: Wade Megan
No. 30: Shane Harper
No. 29: Michael Davies
No. 28: Karl Stewart
No. 27: Cory Larose
No. 26: Pat Cannone
No. 25: Brian Wiseman
No. 24: Colin Stuart
No. 23: Brian Noonan
No. 22: Tim Bergland
No. 21: Joey Crabb
