Kings’ Ryan Smyth reaches a milestone with his drive as strong as ever

Hockey people were talking about a kid named Smyth in the Canadian mountain town of Banff. It was no big deal for Glen Sather, then the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, to take a look and relay his impressions to Barry Fraser, his chief scout.

The kid, Kevin Smyth, was the oldest of three brothers. The next youngest, 12-year-old Ryan, was with him the day Sather went to see Kevin at a hockey school.

“He was supposed to be the big deal in town, but the guy that caught my eye was Ryan because he was so smart and quick and intelligent the way he played the game,” Sather said.

“So that’s how I started to follow him, and I told Barry Fraser about him. And Barry, of course, drafted him for our team in Edmonton.

“It took him a little while to catch on, but he’s developed into one of the premier left wingers in the game, if you ask me.”

Smyth, drafted sixth overall by Edmonton in 1994, made his NHL debut in Los Angeles against the Kings on Jan. 22, 1995. A framed score sheet from that game, presented to Smyth by the Oilers’ training staff, might be the most treasured gift he received before he played his 1,000th NHL game Saturday, also in Los Angeles but now as a member of the Kings.

More than 50 friends and relatives gathered to honor a husband, father, friend and player whose work ethic is above reproach. He has changed over the years: Battling for rebounds and deflections has given him scars and creaky knees, and the mullet that was his trademark — affectionately mocked by wig-wearing teammates during the team’s morning skate Saturday — has been restyled.

But he has never lost the drive that distinguishes him as a leader and consistent contributor.

“As a player you want to play that first NHL game, let alone 1,000th,” he said Saturday morning. “Obviously every kid dreams of winning the Stanley Cup. You want to win that, but to me it was playing the first and 1,000th.”

It’s significant that he reached that milestone as a top-six forward, not a watered-down version of what he used to be.

Smyth, 34, has helped make the Kings’ second line — with him on the left, Jarret Stoll at center and Justin Williams on the right — their most productive. That trio racked up 12 goals and 30 points in the 10 games that preceded the Kings’ matchup against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

“There’s no downhill-going now,” teammate Anze Kopitar said of Smyth. “Most guys, they hit 1,000 games, they’re a little bit older and I’m not going to say playing themselves out of the league, but Smitty’s still got it.

“No secret to it, either, and hopefully he’ll be playing like that for us the whole year.”

Smyth sat out 15 games last season because of a rib injury and broke an ankle in the spring while playing for Canada at the world championships. This season — knock wood or the nearest composite stick — he hasn’t been slowed by age or infirmity.

“You come into the year you feel good, you feel healthy and you want to contribute as best you can for the team,” said Smyth, who had three goals, eight points and a plus-six rating in his first 12 games.

“And the team’s playing good hockey. If we can maintain it we’ve got ourselves a good opportunity, and that’s what you want.”

If the youthful Kings go far this season, it will be partly on his strong back.

“He’s an inspiration to all kinds of guys because he works so hard. He never takes a day off,” said Sather, now the New York Rangers’ president and general manager. “Ryan has been really good. He’s had a great career.”

Coaches don’t like disruptions to their practice routines, but Terry Murray happily agreed to let players pay tribute to Smyth on Saturday with those mullet wigs.

“The best way to show respect for a teammate is to do exactly what they did,” he said. “All of the presentations or talk or wristwatch, piece of crystal — this is the best, for sure.”

After laughing at the hair-raising joke, Smyth went back to work. He didn’t get to 1,000 games by slacking off and he’s not about to start now, not with a Cup dream to still follow.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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