Hawks rookie Smith basks in sudden fame

When a visiting reporter brought up the play of Blackhawks rookie Ben Smith in Friday's 4-3 loss to Vancouver, he mentioned that Smith “wasn't the biggest guy in the world.”

Viktor Stalberg stopped him right there.

“Uh, wait until you see him without his shirt on,” Stalberg said with a laugh. “No, he's a great player and a hard worker. He's doing a great job out there.”

Smith, who is listed at 5-feet-11, 205 pounds, certainly came up big Friday, scoring a pair of goals — both on rebounds — in just his second NHL playoff game. And a day later, he found himself in front of a phalanx of cameras at O'Hare Airport minutes after the Hawks arrived from Vancouver.

How crazy are these days for the 22-year-old? When Smith was called up from Rockford at the very end of the regular season, hardly a head turned. But after showcasing a gritty style and good hockey sense, plenty of heads have spun.

Including Smith's.

“It's exciting. It's something that I've dreamed of forever,” said the 169th pick in the 2006 draft out of Boston College. “I'm just trying to take advantage of it. Hopefully it'll keep going well.”

“I thought Benny Smith had a real good third period and a solid game,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Friday.

But after the loss, it wasn't the 2 goals that were on Smith's mind, rather it was his defensive miscue with 14 seconds remaining in the second period. That's when a shot by Canucks defenseman Alex Edler deflected off Smith's stick and past goalie Corey Crawford to give Vancouver a 3-1 lead.

“It was my fault,” Smith said. “The stick shouldn't be there, the body should.”

Though he'll learn from his mistakes, it's never easy when they occur on the biggest of big stages. But the good news is that Smith is used to performing under high-pressure situations, including the 2010 NCAA championship.

“At BC I was fortunate to play in some big games with some big crowds ... every time you can do that, you get used to that environment,” he said. “Having had that experience makes it a little easier to transition.”

And so does having a quality support system.

“It's a lot of support; not just from the guys here, but family, friends — people are always there helping me out,” he said. “Once I got here, the guys have been really helpful, offering advice that I've tried to eat up.”

That's thinking big.