Sheng Peng
MONTREAL — It’s not everyday that a 22-year-old rookie is your first choice to kill penalties.
But that’s one of many ways where Collin Graf has impressed for the San Jose Sharks this season.
Let’s talk about a couple of them, including an area where Graf is trying to improve.
Graf, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky, San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy, and Barclay Goodrow discussed the winger’s leap this year.
Penalty Kill
Since his second recall on Feb. 3, Graf has led San Jose Sharks forwards in Short-Handed Time on Ice.
And granted, the Sharks are the NHL’s worst team and their PK is just 23rd in the league.
But that’s still a real feat for a 22-year-old rookie.
Warsofsky compared Graf favorably to top penalty killers Logan Couture and recently-dealt Mikael Granlund.
“He’s a smart player. So when the structure breaks down, he can make a read,” Warsofsky said. “Similar to what Logan could do. Mikael could do it. That’s the biggest trend that’s going on in the National Hockey League right now is you’re seeing more high-end skill guys PK’ing.”
Here’s an example of Graf taking matters into his own hands on the PK on Jan. 18 against the New York Islanders.
Typically, a penalty killer won’t attack a player with the puck in the offensive zone, unless the puck carrier’s back is turned to the net. Back turned, that’s a less dangerous opponent.
But Graf (51) read that Brock Nelson (29) had limited options, even facing out, in the OZ corner.
“When the guy’s in the corner like that, he doesn’t have many options to go,” Graf said. “Most of the time, it’s gonna go back up the strong side or back up the weak side.”
For Nelson, that’s likely a pass back to the point (strong side with the puck) or a rim to the other side of the ice (weak side without the puck). Nelson’s not shooting it from there.
“Either way, I’m not sure who I was out with, but [the other Sharks penalty killers] know they’re playing off me. So they’re able to just cut it,” Graf said. “If [Nelson] goes up the strong side, get to that D really quickly.”
On this play, it’s Granlund (64) playing off Graf. Noah Dobson (8) at the strong side point is Nelson’s most obvious pass option, but Granlund is in position to pounce on that.
“So it sort of just gives me the green light to just flush them all the way out and just basically just try to make his life as hard as he can, in terms of trying to find the pass,” Graf said.
Graf does that, forcing a turnover that Jake Walman (96) is able to clear. What had began with a dangerous situation — Bo Horvat (14) spreading out the Sharks’ PK with a cross-slot pass to Nelson — ends with an easy clear.
“We’re pretty good structurally, but when it breaks down, there’s a little chaos, those high-end skill guys, because they’re high-end skill, they know what they’re looking for, so they can be almost one step ahead,” Warsofsky said about the San Jose PK. “That’s why I thought Logan was really, really good on the penalty kill, he was usually one step ahead of that.”
That’s real praise for Graf, being mentioned in the same breath as PK’ers like Couture and Granlund.
“I did a lot with Granny before he got traded,” Graf said, crediting the former Sharks alternate captain, just traded to the Dallas Stars. “Just in the games and stuff. We would talk about it. I’ve tried to pick up a couple things from him.”
Another great PK’er, Barclay Goodrow, had high praise for Graf: “He seems like he’s always in the right position. Makes good reads. Shown a great maturity to his game, even though he’s so young.”
Small sample size, and not definitive stats, but according to Natural Stat Trick, Graf has Sharks forwards-best Scoring Chances Against (ahead of William Eklund) and Expected Goals Against (ahead of Goodrow) rates at 4-on-5.
“Smart, good stick, good details with his stick, extremely bright individual,” Warsofsky said. “Plays with good instincts. He’s just smart. He knows where the puck is going to go, what the [other] team is trying to do. That’s half the battle.”
Defense
This penalty-killing prowess speaks to why Graf got called up by the San Jose Sharks a second time this year on Feb. 3, literally just nine days after he got sent down.
He’s got a legitimate nose for defensive play and the details of the game.
Make no mistake, Graf has skill — he’s one of just eight AHL rookies to average over 0.9 Points Per Game this season. The winger has eight goals and 24 assists in just 35 games this season.
But?
“It’s not always about, although he does have a good amount of points, points don’t get you called up,” McCarthy said. “He does a lot of the right things as far as loose puck recoveries, tracks, those identity areas that we talk about.”
There’s a reason why Graf has separated himself from some of the Cuda’s other prospects.
While Graf still has a lot to learn about defending at the NHL level, his mental approach, thinking defense first, suggests that he’s going to figure it out.
The Quinnipiac product gave head coach Rand Pecknold a lionshare of the credit for that.
“My defensive instincts probably come from college and just the way that we were coached and our coach really, really made sure that I understood that defense was really important,” Graf said. “Basically what he would tell me is that better you play defense, the quicker you can get the puck back and then you can go play offense. Sort of those instincts on the defensive side translated over to the PK.”
Offense
What was the San Jose Sharks’ message to Graf about his first stint in the NHL this season, from late December to late January?
“Management wanted me to be more offensive,” Graf said on Feb. 5, after he got recalled. “I made sure that I obviously played responsible defensively but when there’s opportunities in the offensive zone to hold on to the puck, to try to make a creative offensive play.”
It’s a work in progress, but Graf is clearly heeding the message.
Here’s Graf at the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 24.
First, Graf makes a good defensive play, staying on top of Kyle Connor (81) and forcing the puck out. Good defense leads to offense, as the puck bounces to Graf in the neutral zone. Up 1-0 early in the third period, it would’ve been understandable for Graf to dump the puck in, get the line change.
But credit to Graf, he attacked, and got his own shot, one of only three that the Sharks got in the period.
Underscoring the message that Graf received from the organization, small sample size reminder again, but according to Stathletes, the playmaking winger actually leads Sharks forwards with 0.65 5-on-5 High-Danger Chance Assists Per 60. Those are passes that lead to high-danger scoring chances.
That’s a good category to lead: Graf is ahead of Macklin Celebrini, Eklund, and Alex Wennberg.
For Graf, he just needs to continue the exponential offensive and defensive growth that he’s shown since his cup of coffee with the San Jose Sharks last year. Another big jump next season, and he should be looking at a long NHL career.