Martin Smith stepped up as the North Stars head coach for the 2024/25 season. (Desiree Getzlaff/Facebook)

By Austin Mattes

Family Legacy

‘It was a dream come true’: Martin Smith cherishes time as North Stars head coach

May 2, 2025 | 5:00 PM

With the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season officially at a close, the Battlefords North Stars say a fond farewell to head coach Martin Smith as he is no longer filling the position for next season.

Smith, who is a Battlefords native, has a long family legacy with the organization, from wearing the Black and Silver himself, to his father being the team president and even his nephew playing on the team. Smith stepped up to fill the position just a couple of weeks into the 2024/25 season after the North Stars saw themselves without a head coach due to the stepping down of their bench boss at the time.

Even though Smith knew his time as the head coach would be short-lived, he said that the experience was a special one.

“I knew I’d be coming in to get them through the season, but even to get the opportunity to come in and help a team that means so much to you and your family, it was just a dream come true. I really enjoyed the experience, and I want to thank the organization for having the trust in me especially because it was unique situation with me having a full-time job,” said Smith.

Being the only head coach in the SJHL with a full-time job, Smith definitely had his work cut out for him and said that it involved some late nights. He also gave credit to assistant coach Owen Lamb for the work he did behind the scenes to help make the situation work.

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“If we had a game midweek we would get back at three or four in the morning and I’d be at work for eight, but especially with Owen being new to coaching, he did a lot of the day-to-day stuff that made it easier for us and I know he’s going to be a great coach,” said Smith.

Despite the unique situation, the team had a spectacular season that exceeded a lot of expectations.

The North Stars finished first in their division with a 29-22-3-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record and even had a close first round playoff battle against the Weyburn Red Wings, who went on all the way to the SJHL finals.

Looking back at the season, Smith said there were lots of good memories and achievements for the team.

“The talk was that we were in a rebuilding year, but you never heard that from the players or from the staff, we beat top teams like Melfort, Flin Flon and Weyburn, and now we’re going to get a banner in the Access Communications Centre that’ll hang there for a long time. So, there were a lot of great accomplishments and the team faced a lot of adversity, I am just really proud of the fact that they didn’t quit and they just kept plugging away,” he said.

Now, with it being the start of the offseason, the North Stars are in the hunt for a new head coach and general manager for the 2025-26 season. However, the North Stars legend is still and always will be connected to the team with this past season serving as another mark of the Smith family legacy to the organization.

Smith said that he looks forward to being a fan for the years to come, as he sees a lot of potential in the team.

“I’ll be at a lot of games and rooting them on, and hopefully they will continue to be successful. The North Stars have always meant a lot to me, and that’s not going to change. They are coming in with a lot of solid players, and I think they will have a good squad going forward,” he said.

The North Stars now get set to host their Spring Camp in Martensville from May 30 to June 1 as they prepare for the season and the 2025 SJHL Draft.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes