Eye injury ends Smith’s pro hockey career

PORTLAND – An eye injury has ended Portland Pirates defenseman Jordan Smith’s hockey career, officials said Monday.

Smith, 20, underwent successful surgery Monday at the Maine Medical Center but he will not regain vision in his injured eye, doctors said.

Smith was hit in the eye by a deflected puck during the first period of an American Hockey League game against the Manchester Monarchs on Feb. 24. The puck broke the orbital bone surrounding the eye and he underwent emergency surgery.

The injury is likely to add to the debate over whether professional hockey players should be required to wear visors as college hockey players do.

Smith was not wearing a visor.

It was not the first time this has happened. In 1998, former University of Maine star Jeff Libby lost an eye when a skate cut his face while he was playing for the Lowell Lock Monsters against St. John’s Maple Leafs.

Although Smith won’t play hockey again, he could take another job within the Pirates organization, officials said.