San Jose Sharks
Will Smith: Goal of the Year?
Will Smith might have just scored the goal of the year.
The San Jose Sharks, up 3-2 in the second period, but the Utah Mammoth surging, needed a shot in the arm from someone, and they got it.
Will Smith is breaking ankles out here. 😨 pic.twitter.com/OehmbtjxKC
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 2, 2025
Macklin Celebrini (71) gained the zone, feinting a pass forward and drawing John Marino (6) in , before a behind-the-back drop to Will Smith (2). Smith put the puck between the legs of Nate Schmidt (88) and past a sprawling Brandon Tanev (13), before firing a shot along the ice past ex-San Jose Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek. Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin (85) had jumped up to provide a screen.
The Sharks didn’t look back, totaling three unanswered goals in the middle frame, to race out to a 6-2 lead. Smith added another, and Adam Gaudette struck too.
THE SHARKS ARE A WAGON pic.twitter.com/pwZjT44NhY
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) December 2, 2025
Smith now has 12 goals on the season, roughly a 36-goal pace for the season. He’s just two behind team leader Celebrini’s 14.
Speaking of Celebrini, he’s got three assists on the night. The 19-year-old’s triple gives him 40 points on the season:
This assist put Celebrini at the 40-point mark for the season. Per @NHLPR, Celebrini is the fourth teen in NHL history to reach 40 points in 27 or fewer games, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. https://t.co/tOxz3Hs9Wb
— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) December 2, 2025
Sleepover Line mate Tyler Toffoli also broke out of his slump with two goals and two assists.
Happy for the win obviously. But I think I’m most happy about Smith seeming to come into his own as a player.
Also good Toffoli seems to be working through whatever had been ailing him.
It’s a 82 game season. People gotta be patient.
Will Smith: 12/15/27
Matvei Michkov: 8/6/14
Out-producing Fantilli, too. Smith at a point per game right now, that is so cool. I’m so glad Mike Grier is the GM and not me, because I had bought into the Michkov hype and I thought Grier was making the safe pick instead of getting the most talented player. I’ve admitted I was wrong for quite awhile now. Even before Smith blew up last January, I could tell he was gonna be the better player. Man, the double dangle goal is getting the attention, but the second goal was such a beauty, too. He toe-dragged and then ripped a… Read more »
Was just checking how Smith compares to his draft class and was coming here to say the same about Fantilli. It will be fun watching Smith and Mac growing up together.
That’s why he was compared to Kucherov. Exactly the types of goals he would score.
Comps like that always scare me (Obviously I’ve felt the same about the Crosby comps for Mack), but sometimes they are right and you just have to marvel at it. I think Will’s offensive ceiling is even higher than this, and we are seeing the confidence he’s showing and his creativity. He’s not afraid to go out there and do his thing, and it turns out his thing is pretty good. He’s going to improve on some of the other areas of his game, too, you can see him growing into an all around player, especially on the forecheck. You… Read more »
It seems like Smitty is getting progressively more dangerous as time goes on and he’s only 20 years old!
This is why I love our top line, Toffoli/Mack/Smith. Dominating and sly.