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“You’ve got a photographer here? At least you’re wearing black,” Boughner says to Smith as he arrives on the tee to play with the group in front of us.

Of course, the blue worn by the Maple Leafs is no longer cool.

“I made sure of that,” Smith says with a chuckle.

To get to know somebody, it’s always good to see them in their element. You get the sense, in a lot of ways, that this is Smith in his element.

Photo by Dax Melmer / Postmedia

Sure, he could be a member of a stuffy private club, but that’s not his style. He’s with friends he’s known for years, telling stories, having fun and making the most of a beautiful summer day.

“I just love it here,” Smith says.

Smith gives off the vibe he just loves life and all it has to offer. If anybody thought he’d spend the summer nervously anticipating his first head-coaching gig, that isn’t happening. He spent most of the first five or six weeks on the job assembling his coaching staff and working on the roster.

It has finally settled down in the past three weeks.

“The summer is a little different,” he says. “As an assistant coach, you have your little niche and you have one thing you have to do. As a head coach, the biggest thing was hiring a staff, and it took quite a while to do that.

“But now that I have a staff in place, I’ve been able to enjoy the last two or three weeks. Anyone knows the NHL, it’s a grind and it takes a lot of work. You have to enjoy a little bit in the summer and unwind so that you’re fresh when the year starts. That’s key for me right now and we’ll get ready to put the hockey hat back on here shortly.”