Felicia Keller
Michael Misa has made the San Jose Sharks.
So how is the 18-year-old adjusting to top-level play, in his first training camp? Well, he’s getting there.
“Still getting used to it,” Misa said.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky said he’s been a bit tentative, trying not to make mistakes.
So what does Warsofsky want from Misa, and how will the top prospect prove to the head coach that he belongs in the NHL? What advice has Misa received from Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith? And what did Misa learn about taking faceoffs from guest coach Zenon Konopka?
“He doesn’t want to be caught out of position. And positionally, he’s pretty good, he’s in good spots. I don’t want him to think as much, to be honest,” Warsofsky said of Misa. “I need him to play on his toes and play with his instincts. We’ll coach him through the mistakes. We’ll coach him through the structure.”
Warsofsky added: “He doesn’t want to make a mistake and get scolded, which we don’t scold. I want him to go play free.”
Warsofsky wants Misa to get going without the worry of making mistakes — noting that it’s similar to how Smith was at the beginning of last season.
To that end, the 2025 San Jose Sharks No. 2 pick has gotten advice from 2024 No. 1 Celebrini and 2023 No. 4 Smith, too: “Something they told me is just demand the puck and do your thing out there. You went that high in the draft for a reason. So just believe, trust yourself when you’re out there. And don’t get nervous at times.”
Misa said training camp has been an “adjustment,” but that overall he’s happy with the work he’s put in.
“It’s obviously a bit more here and maybe a little overwhelming at times,” Misa said. “The biggest thing is stopping on pucks. There’s some habits you might have in juniors that you can’t get away with in the NHL, and it’s a learning process. Our coaching staff, older guys, have been doing a good job helping me along the way here already.”
So according to the coaching staff, how can Misa stay with the San Jose Sharks? His contract is slide-eligible, meaning the Sharks could still send Misa back to the Saginaw Spirit before his 10th NHL game.
“I think steady improvement, similar to Will and Mack,” Warsofsky said. “He’ll go through his bumps in the road, and he’ll have to learn from it.”
Warsofsky got more specific: “It’s going to probably come down to the pace of the game. Do we feel comfortable playing him in an NHL environment, where the pace is extremely high, and you have to think and react in a split second? It’s a really big jump from the OHL.”
Another specific that the 18-year-old centerman has focused on is faceoffs, especially during camp. Misa said NHL players dig in at faceoffs more than what he’s used to from the OHL.
While he can’t master faceoffs in two weeks necessarily, he said he’s been working on the details.
“It’s not so much even strength. It’s more where you put your stick, where you’re lined up on the draw. Having timing is really important – when the refs drop the puck, you have to time it pretty well,” Misa said.
Long-time enforcer and faceoff maestro Zenon Konopka – who Misa called “one of the best ever to do it” – stopped by a few San Jose Sharks practices early on in camp as a guest coach, and helped Macklin Celebrini and Misa and others at the dot.
“As a lefty, there’s a couple of different things he taught me – the sweep on my forehand. You see a lot of guys using that just trying to snap it back quick,” Misa said. “More on my backhand, just to get into the puck, use my skates to hold their stick off and then try and snap it back.”
But Warsofsky’s focus?
“It’s gonna come down to pace,” the San Jose Sharks head coach said. “He’s picked some things up, and there’s still some improvement that needs to continue to develop in some areas.”