Sharks fans now are reaping a benefit that can
only make the rest of the league nervous: our young players are getting better
and better, especially forward Macklin Celebrini and players like forward Will
Smith and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. We watch this teenager, Celebrini, a
first overall draft pick in 2024, get points on the board, game after game
after game.
Sharks fans are lucky to have a player like this, who is
challenging longtime stars Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid for league
scoring leads. Through 40 games, Celebrini has had 22 goals and 40 assists.
Phenomenal numbers. And at just 19 years of age, he’s made Canada’s
Olympic hockey team. I’d like to see the Sharks sign Celebrini to a long,
long, contract extension as soon as possible.
Aside from Celebrini, we
have Smith, who clearly has become another star player.
Although he
has missed the last bunch of games because of an injury, Smith, selected fourth
overall in 2023, has 12 goals and 17 assists in 33 games.
Askarov,
meanwhile, is now a topnotch NHL goalie. Acquired in a pricey trade with
Nashville in August 2024, Askarov has 15 wins this season and a save percentage
of .897. While his GAA is 3.36, I think we can expect this number to improve,
as we watch the acrobatic saves Askarov makes. And he’s only 23 years old.
The latest budding star for the Sharks is Igor Chernyshov. He’s
churned out three goals and five assists through just seven games. Drafted 33rd
overall in the second round in 2024, Chernyshov at this stage looks like a
draft day steal.
Other potential star players still in development
include defenseman Sam Dickinson, drafted 11th overall in 2024; forward Michael
Misa, drafted second overall in 2025, and Quentin Musty, drafted 26th overall
in 2023. Hopefully, we will see the kind of success from these guys that
we’re seeing from players such as Smith and Celebrini. Dickinson, for one,
is still getting his feet wet in the NHL, with one goal and three assists in 31
NHL games so far and a plus/minus rating of -3.
Musty has seven goals
and 16 assists with the San Jose Barracuda this year while Misa had one goal
and two assists in seven Sharks games before getting injured. He then underwent
a conditioning assignment with the Barracuda and now is on the roster for Team
Canada in the World Junior Championships tournament. He’ll be back in San
Jose soon.
This current Sharks team very well could make the playoffs,
which would be the team’s first post-season venture since 2019. But it
might still take more time to get into that tournament. There have been games
where the Sharks simply were dominated on the scoreboard, such as the 7-2 loss
to the Vegas Golden Knights on December 23.
For now, it’s great
to see the excitement of fans because of the current Sharks squad. Plenty are
already wearing Celebrini jerseys. This New Year certainly offers a lot of
potential for the Sharks and their fans as the team moves forward.
