Sheng Peng
This season isn’t a sprint for Will Smith, it’s a marathon.
So it’s okay that it’s been an up-and-down rookie campaign for the 19-year-old.
After leading the NCAA with 71 points in just 41 games as a Boston College freshman in 2023-24, Smith went pointless in his first eight NHL games.
Then, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30, Smith put up five goals and six assists in 14 contests.
Smith, however, has gone dry over the last seven games, which culminated in a demotion to the fourth line on Saturday at the Edmonton Oilers.
Points aren’t everything, of course, but they do illustrate Will Smith’s roller coaster campaign.
There are, I think, three reasons why the San Jose Sharks aren’t worried about their 2023 fourth-overall pick though.
I also asked three NHL scouts, none with the Sharks, their thoughts about Smith’s progress this season.
Smith’s Skills Are Translating (Some of Them)
It would be a concern if we weren’t seeing some of what makes Will Smith, Will Smith.
But we are.
Two Smith skills have clearly translated to the NHL, and they’ll only become more deadly as he becomes bigger, stronger, and faster.
On Halloween, Smith scored the first two goals of his NHL career with wicked shots.
That isn’t the Smith skill that has translated most though: He’s deceiving NHL goalies regularly with the fake-shot pass.
Smith agreed that this is his skill that’s translated most, telling San Jose Hockey Now: “That’s a huge staple in my game, and how I got here. I think deception is huge. Whenever you can freeze the goalie like that, it’s always good to set up another guy…Honestly, it’s vision, where you’re looking. Obviously, it’s called no-look. [But I’ll take a look] and if you freeze them with your body, he thinks you’re shooting, there you got to make the pass.”
Smith pulled off the exact same pass he made for Jack Thompson’s first NHL goal to Mario Ferraro three weeks later.
“Last second, to be honest, on that one, because I had four guys in the rush there, so I saw him last second, and the reason I passed is I saw the D kind of flip over and go down, so I know his stick was in the lane,” he said. “Besides that, I was probably gonna shoot.”
“We’ve seen him make that play and the patience he has not to shoot that puck. That’s how you beat goalies in the National Hockey League is getting them to move side to side and deep in the scoring zones, and he has that ability to do that,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
What tells does Smith look for from the goalie?
“When he’s out of the net more. Obviously, it’s gonna be tougher for him to get back in there,” he said. “To be honest, it’s not so much the goalie. It’s more of what you’re thinking and the d-man, you make a good pass, the goalie’s gonna have to make a great save.”
“The biggest thing, I think the game slowed down for him. So he’s able to make those plays and slow the game down himself. He’s gotten up to speed with the speed of the game,” Warsofsky said. “And obviously, the points follow with that. A guy that’s had points his whole life, when you don’t have points, your confidence lacks. It’s just natural for a human being. So now that he’s getting on the scoresheet, I think his confidence has grown tremendously, and that’s helped his game.”
The highs of Smith’s season so far should give him confidence: The best of his game does work in the best league in the world.
But Smith’s confidence maybe isn’t the issue.
Smith’s Confidence Appears Strong
Smith appears to be a very confident person.
That confidence might be one of the reasons why Smith is suited to develop and learn in real time in the NHL, instead of in the AHL.
“Yeah, Mike and the development staff obviously watched him in the last year at BC, and he had a slow start at BC too, and he came on,” Warsofsky said. “He’s got a quiet confidence about himself, not arrogant by any means. He just knows at some point he’s going to figure it out. And I think that’s a great thing.”
If Smith was shaken to the core by his early-season struggles, it wasn’t so obvious. Less confident players would begin to rush plays on a regular basis. Will Smith would then stop being Will Smith; that’s when top lower-level players begin to adapt their game to simply survive in the NHL.
That’s why Smith’s last goal on Nov. 30 was a sign that his confidence was still very much intact.
Mikael Granlund (64) makes the perfect saucer pass to Smith (2). A back-checking Yanni Gourde (37) closing in, Smith doesn’t hurry his shot, putting it exactly where he wants.
A less confident player might have rushed it.
Were the San Jose Sharks ever worried about Smith’s confidence?
“No,” Warsofsky said. “There’s a lot of players like that in the National Hockey League that struggle early, and they know the game’s gonna slow down for them. They’re gonna figure things out. Will stuck with that. And it doesn’t surprise us whatsoever.”
Smith Is Getting Better
Is Smith better now than he was in October?
That’s the most important question, I think.
The answer is a resounding yes.
“We’ve seen some major strides from him since training camp, and we expect him to continue to get better and better,” Warsofsky said.
If you don’t believe the Sharks, take the word of three NHL scouts, none with San Jose.
“He’s playing with more confidence now and is more engaged,” Scout #1 said.
“Smith certainly looks more comfortable and is showing his skill level more consistently. Better on the wing for now,” Scout #2 said. “Pace looks better and he’s not as hesitant with the puck in the offensive zone. Still going to turn over the puck but creating more than he’s giving back.”
“He looks like he’s settling in and is more relaxed,” Scout #3 said.
The Sharks think that he’s developing at a healthy rate.
“This is his first time in his career, obviously he’s only 19, but that the game is really fast, and everyone’s up to speed. He’s always been the best player. He’s always gotten points. He’s always been able to play in the offensive zone, and now, for the first time, where we are as an organization, and everything that goes into that,” Warsofsky said, “it’s not comfortable for him, and he’s a little uncomfortable, but that’s okay. That’s completely okay, and he’s going to learn from it.”
All the Caveats
Like Warsofsky said, Smith is just 19, and all the caveats that come with that.
When you’re evaluating your typical teenager in the NHL, you emphasize the positive over the negative. The Sharks have done that, by and large.
“Some things he’s got to continue to work on, with and without the puck,” Warsofsky said, “but we’ve seen some nice steps here.”
It’s a big adjustment going from the NCAA to the NHL.
“Guys coming out of college aren’t used to the grind like the kids out of the CHL,” Scout #1 said. “The CHL has a longer season and the long bus rides. All that has to be taken into perspective.”
He’s receiving limited, though I think enough, playing time.
“Playing time is key and being used in [power play] situations,” Scout #1 said.
Smith has averaged 13:49 a night, ninth among Sharks forwards, and has been a staple of the second power play unit. It’s a fair amount, that balances Smith’s development and respecting the veterans who are ahead of him on the depth chart, with the idea that top-six and first power play unit deployment should be earned.
All said, Smith is getting better in the best league in the world.
“We’ve seen some major strides from him since training camp, and we expect him to continue to get better and better,” Warsofsky said. “And I think the player you see now will be completely different by the time you see this player at game 82.”
And like I said, for Smith, this season isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.
“He’s a kid adjusting to the NHL,” Scout #1 said. “The conversation to be had on him is two years from now.”