San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: Smith Ahead of Schedule, Too
Macklin, Macklin, Macklin!
You wouldn’t blame Will Smith if he sometimes felt like Jan Brady next to “new face of the NHL” Macklin Celebrini.
Smith, best friends with Celebrini, has never shown a trace of jealousy, though.
And on Monday, in the San Jose Sharks’ 6-3 stomping of the Utah Mammoth, Smith showed off his own staggering talent.
Will Smith is breaking ankles out here. 😨 pic.twitter.com/OehmbtjxKC
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 2, 2025
This Will Smith goal might be a candidate for goal of the year.
Last season, about mid-January, both in their rookie campaigns, it appeared that Celebrini was literal leagues ahead of Smith.
Before Jan. 18, the 2023 No. 4 pick had six goals and 15 points in 39 games and was sitting out back-to-backs in what the organization called development days. Smith also was moved from his natural center position to wing a month into the season.
The 2024 No. 1 pick was perhaps the leading Calder Trophy candidate, any talk of development days for him obliterated by 13 goals and 32 points in just 35 appearances.
Frankly, Smith did not look like an NHL regular at this point, while Celebrini resembled a seasoned veteran, more often than not.
But on Jan. 18, Smith returned to his hometown Boston, dropping a goal and an assist. Coincidence or not, he hasn’t looked back since, producing at a point-per-game pace.
Since Jan. 18, Smith has put up 24 goals and 57 points in 62 games. Celebrini has 26 goals and 71 points.
It’s beyond impressive that Smith, 20, and Celebrini, 19, are already point-per-game players in the best league in the world.
While Smith is still trying to catch up to Celebrini’s two-way acumen and relentless battle, he’s not far from his linemate’s equal in the OZ, and at times, can pull off plays that even Celebrini might marvel at.
Anyway, it’s not about Smith vs. Celebrini. It’s about Celebrini and Smith.
Celebrini may be breaking development curves with how ahead of schedule he is, but tonight was a reminder that Smith is well ahead of schedule too, which it didn’t feel like early last season.
That’s a tribute to Smith and his work to get here, and the San Jose Sharks, who, amidst much criticism last season, believed that the Boston College star would overcome inevitable struggles and develop properly in the NHL.
That’s bad news for the rest of the league: The one-two punch projected to terrorize the NHL in the coming years is, well look at San Jose’s surprising 13-11-2 record, ahead of schedule.
Tyler Toffoli
Toffoli, on if he felt that he was getting close to breaking out of his slump:
I knew I was going to score a goal at some point. (laughs) I don’t know if you guys were worried, it would have been a little concerning.
It is what it is. It’s a hard league to score in, and sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, and all you can do is just keep going and come to the rink everyday. Fortunate that we were winning some games and didn’t feel as much pressure as maybe I would have [felt].
Toff gets the teeth! 🦷👏 pic.twitter.com/ArYyE6ZYbQ
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 2, 2025
Toffoli, on Mikhail Sergachev not dapping up SJ Sharkie:
I feel like Sharkie was gonna give him the too cool, so I think he made the right decision. (laughs)
Will Smith
Smith, on Tyler Toffoli breaking out of his slump:
We weren’t too worried about him. (laughs)
Will Smith complimented #SJSharks fans for sticking up for @sjsharkie after Sergachev dissed their mascot: "I did see that. All fun and games…Yeah, they picked up on it pretty quick. I was kind of surprised."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 2, 2025
Pavol Regenda
Regenda, on if he had doubts that he would ever return to NHL:
Yeah, I’ll be honest. Yeah. You know it’s hard, and it’s hard to get in his league. Just get working, and hopefully I can stay here as long as I can, and that’s my goal every day, just prove that I belong here and enjoy every moment I’m here.
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky, on what he liked most about San Jose Sharks’ performance tonight:
I thought we played with the momentum probably better than we have, probably all year.
Warsofsky, on Smith’s highlight-reel goal:
Obviously, his skill, his talent took over there and makes a couple guys miss. Really good play by Mack there to come in inside the blueline. They obviously have some good chemistry. So that was a nice skill play.
Whatever management does, just keep that top line together if they want to win games.
Gaudette could solidify his place on the team as well as Kurashev. We need these guys to be solid for us as well as the newcomers, Graf, Regenda, Ostapchuk, and the defensemen. They’ve got a good vibe going and I don’t see any reason for that to change. They are sitting alone, now, in the 7th seed position. Who would have thought that!?
Yeah, it’s amazing… I was hoping for 77 points this year and I’m trying not to get too greedy, but you just see that this team is taking off. And I do want to say that last night’s crowd was surprisingly impactful for how small it was, and I guess Utah on Monday night is tough, but this Sharks team is must see viewing. Imagine being able to brag to your friends that you were there for Smith’s dirty dangles… Magic is beginning to happen at the tank. It’s fun every night these days. Go! And look up “Sharks Breakaway… Read more »
The vibe is back for sure. I moved farther away during COVID so hard to make games, but was a the Panthers game and the vibe was amazing. Nothing like winning to put butts in the seats is there?
Yeah, until last night the trend was looking great, too. Sharks have the most improved attendance in the league by far
Monday night game, so I’ll give them a pass. The croud seemed excited however.
crowd
Me. I thought that in preseason. Well documented that I said if they got goaltending and stayed healthy, they would be in the playoff conversation around Christmas. I said I believed I. The coaching staff and their ability to get the team to play hard. I also called a win/ point streak sometime in the first 20 games. What I missed on is thinoing the turn around would come from Klinger and Leddy hopefully being healthy and being able to eat minutes. Obviously that has yet to pan out and likely won’t. I’m typically too optimistic but clearly wasn’t enough… Read more »
Yeah, I had faith in the team and the coaching staff, I just didn’t dare get my hopes that high. I was hoping for 100pts from Celebrini and point a game from Smith, and it’s possible both guys will surpass that. I was just trying not to be unfair to the team, and I didn’t want to lose my enthusiasm if they got near 80 points. Their post November pace is over 100 points. I don’t want to now be disappointed if they don’t reach those crazy heights. 100 points would be essentially 25 more wins than last year. Let’s… Read more »
I figured 90 from Celly and 75 from Smith. I think the points will even out in the end but I think they’ll be close enough to the playoffs that we’ll all be disappointed if they don’t make it. After watching the 71 loss 2nd year sharks turn into the playoff bound 3rd year Sharks I never like to put a limit on what a properly motivated group of guys with talent in the right places can achieve. I believe in Wario like I haven’t since Sutter.
Is it too early to scoreboard watch?
If not, who do you root against in tonight’s Chicago-Vegas game?
Given how tightly cropped the Pacific has been so far, I think you’ve gotta cheer against Vegas but I don’t think that necessarily means you have to cheer for Chicago. Mostly we cheer for the two point game and no OT.
If it was possible I’d like to see neither get any points, but since that’s impossible I’m going with Vegas for a regulation win. Here’s why: Catching Vegas shouldn’t be the goal here. Keeping a wild card seed should be, and that means keeping Chicago in the L column for at least 2 more games.
My thought as well.
…And they’re in OT. Shitty…
My favorite teams are the Sharks and whomever is playing Vegas. I hate those guys.