Smith became president of Hockey Canada at the same time which the organization was criticized about the ticket prices and the lack of attendance at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, co-hosted in Toronto and Montreal. At the previous events Canada hosted, the total attendance in Calgary and Edmonton was 455,342 fans, Ottawa drew 453,282 fans, but attendance dropped to 366,370 fans in Canada’s largest cities. Smith said that the Toronto market was saturated by other events such as the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the NHL Centennial Classic, the 104th Grey Cup, the MLS Cup 2016, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, and the playoff success of the Toronto Raptors, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Ticket sales in Montreal struggled, despite prices being lowered by 30% in 2017 compared to 2015, and a marketing change to sell more individual games, and fewer package deals. Despite the poor attendance, Hockey Canada achieved 80% of its goal of $21 million in ticket sales, to reinvest into the community and the participating teams.