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The San Jose Sharks entered the 2024-25 season with no playoff expectations around them. The Sharks had just drafted Macklin Celebrini first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. And they had other top prospects, such as 2023 third-overall pick Will Smith, making the jump to the NHL. San Jose certainly had a bright future, but they were not ready quite yet.
So far, the preseason perception of this team has proven true. The Sharks entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a brutal record of 15-35-7. They are dead last in the NHL points-wise this season. In fact, they are the only team in the league with fewer than 40 points at this time.
However, it isn't all doom and gloom. At one point, the Sharks went on a bit of a heater. They went from a 0-7-2 start to a somewhat respectable 9-15-3 record. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out again. But the Sharks have achieved a feat this season that no team can claim.
San Jose is the only team in the league with multiple 20+ point rookies, according to StatMuse Hockey. Celebrini leads the way with 17 goals and 40 points in 45 games. His 40 points lead active San Jose skaters following the Mikael Granlund trade with the Dallas Stars. Meanwhile, Smith is the other productive rookie. He has eight goals and 23 points through 49 games in 2024-25.
Sharks' Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith have impressed in 2024-25
San Jose asked a lot of their rookies to begin the 2024-25 campaign. They didn't want to overwhelm them by any means. However, if this team is going to win games, Celebrini and Smith need to be big parts of those performances.
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So far, they have certainly made their mark. Celebrini is the front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL. And he has left a very strong impression upon general manger Mike Grier so far.
“Not to put too much pressure on him, but he’s had a heck of a first half of his pro career, he’s driving play, pushing his teammates,” Grier said a few weeks back, via NBC Sports Bay Area contributor Sheng Peng. “Driving practice. The competitiveness is off the charts. For an 18-year-old kid, the way he’s done defensively, defending on the puck and winning puck battles and things like that, it’s been super-impressive to watch.”
Smith, meanwhile, has had more ups and downs in the NHL. He has played better as his confidence grows on and off the ice, though. And he drew high praise from Granlund prior to his trade to Dallas.
“(Smith is) such a talented, smart player out there, he's just got to do the right things all over again and all the sudden the game kind of comes to you. You're going to find your spots when to make that great play that he really can do, so that's maybe the biggest thing. He's more comfortable and, obviously, getting on the scoreboard. That helps for sure as well,” Granlund said in December, via NHL.com.
Producing offensively in the NHL is not an easy task. But San Jose has two of the brightest young stars on its roster already making an impact. It's safe to say the future is bright for the Sharks after some dreadful seasons the past few years.
