SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith almost came into this season as a package deal.
Both were high draft picks by the Sharks that entered this year with a ton of promise. They signed their entry-level contacts less than a few weeks apart, figured prominently into the Sharks’ summer marketing campaign on social media, and had their pictures plastered on a season-opening promotional item.
But one’s a little ahead of the other right now when it comes to adjusting to life in the NHL.
While Celebrini picked up his 29th point in 33 NHL games on Saturday in the Sharks’ 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, Smith is having his issues at both ends of the ice.
Right after his second-period turnover inside his own zone nearly led to a Minnesota goal, Smith was stapled to the Sharks bench for the final five minutes of the second period, and all of the third, as San Jose went onto its 11th loss in the 13 games.
The benching by Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky came a few minutes after Smith, earlier in the second period, failed to get the puck deep after he took a pass from defenseman Jake Walman at the Minnesota blue line. That created a couple of other problems, as the Wild took control of the puck before Matt Boldy skated into the Sharks zone and beat goalie Yaroslav Askarov for what turned into the game-winning goal.
Smith tied a season-low in ice time Saturday (9:15) as he was held off the scoresheet for the sixth time in the last seven games. Since coming off an injury that cost him three games from Dec. 7-12, Smith has just one goal and two assists in his last 13 outings. That’s after he had 11 points in his first 24 games.
Warsofsky said Saturday morning that Smith was “forcing it” and that he probably wants to “make plays every single shift, and sometimes, when nothing happens in your shift, it’s a good shift.
“It probably starts with being competitive and skating and getting on pucks, winning some 50/50 pucks, and some smaller details will usually turn into big things.”
Smith,19, still has a lot of promise, and the Sharks, Warsofsky said, will continue to work with him. But as the fourth youngest player in the NHL, the learning curve is steep, and the adjustment from college hockey, understandably, has not been easy.
“He’s just a kid that’s going through a part of his development,” Warsofsky said of Smith. “He’s got some low confidence, and we’ve got to work with him, and we’ve got to help him.
“He’s gotten points his whole life, and this is probably the first time he’s going through a little stretch where he’s not getting points. And for a guy as dynamic as him, that could eat at you and pick at your game a little bit.”
The 6-foot, 181-pound Smith, Warsofsky added, is also adjusting to being a winger after playing center for most of his life.
“There’s going to be some details that go with that in the National Hockey League, going up against the Nick Folignos (of the Wild) and some big guys on the walls,” Warsofsky said. “There come a lot details with playing that position, and he’s just not used to it. So, we’ve got to work with him and get him back.”
Smith is pressing, no doubt, but is far from being the main cause of the Sharks’ problems. In 18 games since the start of December, the Sharks (13-26-6) have scored just 36 goals or a league-low 2.00 per game. That falls on everyone.
Celebrini has done what he can during this time, as his assist on Saturday of William Eklund’s second-period goal gave him a team-leading 15 points in his last 18 games. Eklund, Tyler Toffoli, and Fabian Zetterlund are all right behind him, with nine points each since the start of last month.
To try and spark his dormant offense, Warsofsky put Celebrini on a line with Eklund and Toffoli on the wings. The trio was the Sharks’ best Saturday, as they created nine scoring chances at even strength against the Wild and allowed just two, per Natural Stat Trick.
But despite putting 37 shots on net, the Sharks were once stymied on offense, particularly by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 36 saves in what was likely his final start at SAP Center. Fleury, who is expected to retire after this season, has a stellar regular season record of 20-5-4 and a .941 save percentage in 29 games against the Sharks.
“He’s in front of the puck every time we got it on net,” Celebrini said of Fleury, who made his NHL debut almost three years before San Jose’s No. 1 overall pick this past summer was born. “It’s why he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame.”
At the very least, the Sharks would appear to have something to build on for their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Along with the Celebrini line, their effort and compete Saturday were vastly improved over the night before, when they had a season-low 19 shots on net in a 2-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club.
We’ll see where Smith is slotted for Tuesday’s game, the first of five the Sharks have on a road trip that includes a stop in his hometown of Boston on Jan. 20. It is the latest chapter of a challenging rookie season.
“This is man’s League, and he knows that,” Warsofsky said Saturday morning of Smith. “So we’re going to continue to work with him. He’s a really talented player. We’ve seen some really good things there at times. He’s just got to be a little bit more consistent and compete. We’ve going to work with him.”