The Red Wings just signed 2007 first-round draft pick Brendan Smith last week, but already the former Wisconsin Badger is making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Former Wisconsin Badgers hockey player Brendan Smith, who signed a three-year contract with the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings this week, was charged Friday with disorderly conduct for a fight outside a Downtown house party earlier this month.
Smith, 21, a defenseman who was a nominee for college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award, repeatedly punched a man who had tried to get into the party around 2 a.m. on May 6, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court.
This isn't Smith's first brush with the law. In fact, he has a pretty healthy list of run-ins with law enforcement from his time at Wisconsin.
During 2008, Smith was charged with driving under the influence. That same year, he was also cited for carrying an illegal passenger on a moped, and with underage drinking, possession of alcohol, resisting/obstructing police and interfering with a traffic sign or signal. The first three charges were later dismissed, but Smith was found guilty of the traffic sign charge after entering a no-contest plea.
Smith has a lot of potential and was very impressive at Wisconsin, but his pattern of behavior is a little concerning. Hopefully now that he is with the Red Wings organization he will start to mature and quit acting like your stereotypical drunken college student. If not, he may cost himself a wonderful opportunity to play for one of the premier franchises in professional sports. Talent or not, I doubt the Wings will put up with this kind of behavior if it continues in the future.