Ben Smith: The People's Champion

He won at every level in North America before heading off to Germany, where he has played with some of the country's best young players - and won again.

Sometimes you just have to make a leap in your life. 

Five years ago, center Ben Smith was looking to make a change and all winds were pushing him to Europe. Smith had won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, a Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies and, years before all that, two NCAA championships with Boston College. Along with his time in Chicago, he also saw NHL action with the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs - but the grind was real and when he joined the AHL's Marlies for the 2017-18 campaign, his eyes were wide open.

"To be honest, I was at a point in my career where I wasn't finding a lot of joy in it," Smith said. "I was on waivers and the fourth line or out of the lineup: all the stuff that comes along with the job of being a fringe player in the NHL. I went into that year with the Marlies knowing I was going to be in the AHL and embracing that role."

For his younger teammates, Smith was a rock. Defenseman Justin Holl, now a regular in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, was coming up with the Marlies that season and has nothing but love for his former captain.

"He's one of my favorite guys I've played with and we still keep in touch," Holl said. "Here's a guy who was in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with Chicago. When you get a guy like that who comes down to the AHL, it would be easy for him to have a bad attitude or say 'I belong in the NHL' but he really embraced it and embraced being the captain. He brought a positive attitude every day and he was one of our best players."

The fact Smith would go on to lead the Marlies to their first championship is pretty impressive, but the wheels were already in motion for the next step in his career: He got married after the Calder Cup run and four days after his nuptials, he and his new wife moved to Germany after Smith signed a three-year contract with Adler Mannheim in the DEL.

What followed was more success for Smith, as he helped Mannheim win the championship his very first season. Just as importantly, he has carved out a great life for him and his growing family over in Germany, where he now plays for Red Bull Munich - and along the way, coincidentally, he has managed to play with some of the best German NHL prospects of this generation.

Perhaps the most whimsical aspect of Smith's story is that neither he or his wife had any ties to Germany when they headed over, but now it's become a second home for the American couple - who now have a two-year-old daughter and a newborn son, both born in Germany.

"We just decided to go for it," Smith said. "I didn't know much about Germany, didn't speak German and we definitely had our challenges early on - getting around town, finding things in the grocery store - but we're in Year 5 now and it's amazing. We've come a pretty long way from landing that first morning in Frankfurt to where we are now, navigating life here and really just enjoying Germany, the people and the culture here."

Before their kids were born, Smith and his wife took advantage of their central location in Europe to take trips around the continent, checking out France, Austria and Switzerland when Smith wasn't on the ice. By the time their first child came along, they knew enough of the language to navigate doctor appointments and hospital visits.

"It's fun to start and grow our family here in Germany," Smith said. "I'm approaching 35 and the game has been really good to me. We love being in Germany and the friends we've met here. At this age, you don't want to change a good thing."

When he first came over, Smith got a big assist from a number of North Americans on Adler Mannheim: guys like Chad Kolarik, Luke Adam and Chet Pickard. The DEL allows teams to sign 11 imports, with a maximum of nine suiting up in any particular game. All those players helped him get settled both on and off the ice, where the bigger ice surface was a change, but not enough to stop Smith from helping Mannheim win the title that first year.

"The league was better than I thought," he said. "You don't hear about the DEL much back home, but even from then to now the league has gotten better - you see it in the guys going over to the NHL."

Speaking of which, Smith has seen a lot of that talent on his own teams. Detroit defenseman and NHL rookie of the year Moritz Seider was a teammate in Mannheim, as was Ottawa Senators hot-shot Tim Stutzle. In Munich, Smith has played with Arizona second-rounder Julian Lutz and another Coyotes prospect, defenseman Maksymilian Szuber. And of course, the former NHLer pays it forward.

"I talk a lot with him," Lutz told me at the draft this past summer. "He has helped me so much. He knows so much; he won a Stanley Cup and helped me every day. We had so many great leaders in Munich. They taught me so much on and off the ice; especially what is expected off the ice in North America and on the ice, what I have to work on. They just say 'have fun and continue to work hard' and I never stop."

Here's what Smith saw in all the prospects he has played with so far:

Moritz Seider: "He was 17, still wearing a cage and really raw. Obviously very talented and had good size. He was our seventh defenseman, but he grew and developed to the point he was an impact guy down the stretch and a big part of our championship. You could tell he was a special guy because everyone loved him and was drawn to his energy. You could tell he was something special, but over the past few years he put in the work and has developed into what will be or, if not already is, a superstar defenseman."

Tim Stutzle: "Timmy was funny. I got to camp that year and saw he was my linemate. I thought, 'Who is this 17-year-old? Oh no.' But pretty quickly I realized 'Oh no, I gotta be at my best to keep up with this guy.' He was on another level. You could tell right away he was a special player and the next year he was with the Senators. Because of that, people think I had something to do with it, but he was making me look good. I was lucky to play with him."

Julian Lutz: "He's got all the skill and is just working on the consistency of being a pro and getting used to the strength and speed of a men's league. He's got all the talent in the world to become an NHL player. He plays the game at a pace different than mine - I'm chipping in pucks and trying to get them back, but he's trying to make plays through guys like you see in the NHL now - players are highly skilled and making things happen. It's night and day from 10 years ago when I was trying to make the league, chipping pucks and trying not to make a mistake. He was definitely worthy of that second-round pick and hopefully he develops into a player for the Coyotes."

Maksymilian Szuber: "I actually think he was a steal for Arizona in the sixth round. He's got a big body with a good stick, he just needs to build his confidence. He became a really big part of our team last year - we took a run to the final and he was a major contributor. Both those guys are really important for us because in the 'D' you need three under-23 German players in your lineup every night and they're two of the top youngsters in Germany."

Eventually, Smith and his family will move back to the U.S., but in the meantime he's still living the pro life in Munich and having a lot of fun doing so. Only one question remains: What's the secret to a championship team? Smith has won at every level in his career, so he's a pretty good authority at this point, even if he is humble about it.

"It's a lot of luck," he said. "I've been lucky to be in good situations with good players, coaches and organizations that really did everything they could to win. All those championships are special memories and what it really takes is everyone: the trainer, the physio, the fourth line, the guys that aren't playing - everyone has a role in accomplishing and working toward a team goal. All those teams had that in common and the everyday commitment to success.

"I was lucky enough, early in my career, to be around Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. The guys who won in 2010 were the prime Blackhawks and I was a bit lucky to say I was part of 2013, but you pick things up and you see how guys act and step up in those high-pressure moments. That's something I pride myself on: committing to the process every time and knowing that I'm prepared and feel confident in those moments. I do my best in every situation and at that point, you just live with the results if you're doing your best."