Sharks Locker Room: Look at This Collin Graf Shift

Look at this shift from Collin Graf.

Protecting a one-goal lead late in the third period, Graf turned in a three-zone shift which was the epitome of winning hockey and being hard to play against, in a 3-2 San Jose Sharks’ victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

With 5:40 left, Graf crowds Quinn Hughes (43) at the point, forcing the Canucks star to dump it down. Mario Ferraro (38) is able to win a puck battle to Graf.

Graf receives the puck on his forehand, but Hughes is right there. Hughes probably stick checks if Graf tries his forehand, so the winger calmly turns to his backhand, shakes and bakes, and makes a short pass to Ty Dellandrea (10) who’s able to just get it out.

That, of course, isn’t the ideal place to surrender the puck when you’re up one goal late. But Graf doesn’t give up on the possession, getting under Connor Garland (8) in the neutral zone, almost forcing a turnover there, getting Garland to reverse to Hughes.

That could’ve been the end of it, the perennial Norris Trophy contender with the puck, which is where Vancouver is most comfortable. But Graf keeps it up, attacking Hughes in the DZ, knocking the puck back to Nikita Tolopilo.

More of Collin Graf being a menace on the puck, this time on Garland & Hughes.#TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/NLGV2X8Q92

— SnipeCity420  (@SnipeCity420) November 28, 2025

Graf changes, his shift over.

Winning hockey, of course, isn’t just about goals, which the San Jose Sharks got from Will Smith, William Eklund, and Adam Gaudette. It’s not just about saves, which the Sharks got plenty of, 32 from Yaroslav Askarov.

It’s also about making life as difficult as possible for your opponent, which Graf did on this shift, and on a night where he helped kill 7-of-7 penalties.

“That play in particular was something that we’ve talked about, staying [with] people, not coming off, and staying on the hunt,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

Graf’s development from NCAA playmaker to two-way NHL force is a good reason to believe in the San Jose Sharks’ rebuild.

Sure, they have Macklin Celebrini and Askarov. But I could’ve drafted Celebrini No. 1 in 2024 and the obviously-talented Askarov was a lottery pick. What the Sharks also have is a development staff that’s starting to churn out, to talk like an NHL scout, players. Like legitimate, will help you win a playoff game, players.

“I would say it’s something that I’ve definitely always done,” Graf said about being defensively disruptive. “I would attribute it to the development staff here a bit in terms of focusing on that.”

When the Sharks make it back into the playoffs, there’s a good bet that Graf will be on that team, because he has the makings of the “hard to play against” player that you win with.

And only 23, he should just be scratching the surface of his consistency and potential.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on Graf:

We’ve asked for a lot from Collin. He’s been on the power play, big time on our penalty kill late in games, checking line, been up in the top-six. That was a good game from him. That play in particular was something that we’ve talked about, staying [with] people, not coming off, and staying on the hunt. So [he] did a really good job defending Garland there.

Warsofsky, on Celebrini’s penalty:

I was just asking what Mack said to give him an extra two minutes. Don’t agree with it, but he makes the call…I want [him] to be emotional. I think that’s part of being competitive and part of being who he is. He wants to win, he wants to help his teammates, so those things are going to happen. He’ll learn some areas [where] he can maybe show a little bit less emotion.

Celebrini is rattled in the box after this call pic.twitter.com/7oufWff2xe

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) November 29, 2025

Warsofsky, on the officiating:

Obviously, the calls early in the game had no issues with them on both sides of it, really. I think at the end, I was more upset [because] the face off should not be inside [the zone]. They can go back and watch the video, and I’ll argue to him, blue in the face, that [it] is the wrong call. So is what it is. Didn’t hurt us, but frustrating.

Collin Graf

Graf, on his late shift against Garland and Hughes, where he gained ability to get under and attack the opposition defensively:

I would say it’s something that I’ve definitely always done.

I would attribute it to the development staff here a bit in terms of focusing on that, right? I think that I [have] always had that ability to stay with players.

I skated with Garland all summer. He’s a really shifty guy, good practice for today.

Defensively, especially once I got to pro, I think that I’ve started to focus on that more, and I think that helped there.

Graf, on how the Sharks have improved in November:

I think [at] the start of the year, we obviously didn’t get some bounces. You look at the first two home games, right? We played great and didn’t get the results. I think that we got a lot of results this month. There might have been some games where it was the opposite.

We didn’t play as well as we could and we managed to find a win, but that’s what good teams do. They find different ways to win sometimes.

Today was special teams; the power play had two, and the PK was good, so it was sort of a special teams game. Tomorrow might be 5-on-5 or something like that, just finding different ways to win as a team.

Graf, on playing against Hughes and Makar on the power play:

I felt like I was out there [all the time] against Hughes. Every time, he kept skating around. He’s obviously a super-skilled player, really shifty. You just want to be as patient as you can. It’s obviously hard.

Those are probably the two best D in the world, for a reason. It’s just trying to frustrate them and [not giving] them anything easy. So, that’s the goal.

William Eklund

Eklund, on Askarov:

He’s been showing everybody now, what happens. Been seeing [it in] all my national team years. Facing him every time against Russia, when we play that guy. So he’s just been great out there… He stops the puck, and that helps us a lot.

Eklund, on his goal:

Always nice scoring. I’ve been having chances before, but haven’t scored. So it’s nice to get that one.

Eklund, on the power play:

Good power plays, they should shoot a lot of pucks and get a lot of chances out of that. I think we’ve been better at retrieving pucks after we shoot and helping out each other.

Adam Gaudette

Gaudette, on his celebration:

We were playing a good game, and it was a big goal, so everybody was excited. I think no matter who it was, we all would have celebrated like that.

Gaudette, on Askarov:

He’s been so much fun to watch, so much fun to have in this locker room, and he’s a huge part of our team. He’s [an] exciting player, he’s made some big saves. He’s got such a great personality that the guys really want to fight for him and do anything we can in front of him to make his life easier. But he’s been a hell of a tendy for us.

Gaudette, on the power play:

We’ve just been focused on recovering pucks and supporting each other. Battling harder and getting pucks to the net. Kind of dumbing it down a little, simplifying, and getting pucks to the net. We need to support each other, be closer to each other, and win battles. I thought the past couple of games we’ve been doing a good job of that.

Thanks to William Espy for his help transcribing!