Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association get to pick five players, ranked first to fifth, when they vote for the winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini figures to be on every member’s ballot, perhaps right at the top considering the year he’s had so far. Defenseman Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf, a Gilroy native, will also get plenty of consideration for the award.
Sharks forward Will Smith won’t win the Calder and might not even be a top three finalist. But it seems safe to say the 19-year-old’s name will appear on plenty of ballots, especially considering his recent run.
After a tepid start to the season, Smith has been as productive in recent weeks as any NHL rookie, or any Sharks player, and has been a bright spot on a team that has won once in 14 games.
Smith had a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, and before Friday was tied for fourth among all rookies with 26 points. Celebrini has 42 pounds, two fewer than Hutson and Michkov, but has also played far fewer games due to his injury early in the season.
Going into Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators and starting with the Sharks’ Jan. 20 game in Boston, Smith now has 11 points in his last 12 games, matching him with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov for the most points among any first-year player in that time. It’s also tops among all Sharks players.
In short, Smith is showing why he was the leading scorer in NCAA Division I hockey last season and the Sharks’ fourth-round pick in 2023.
“I think the game’s slowed down for him. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said after Thursday’s game. “Now he’s got more confidence with making plays. I thought that was one of his better games tonight.”
Smith was part of an effective line with fellow winger Fabian Zetterlund and center Alexander Wennberg. On Thursday, per Natural Stat Trick, the trio out-chanced their opposition during 5-on-5 play 8-4, with high-danger chances being 4-0.
Smith’s goal, his ninth of the season, came off a set play at the 17:21 mark of the second period. After Wennberg won a faceoff in the Sharks zone, defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin took the puck and fired it off the boards up to Smith, who, along with Zetterlund, was already in the neutral zone to set up a 2-on-1.
While Zetterlund put himself in a position to receive the pass, Smith kept it and beat Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault with a shot just inside the far post.
“It was kind of a bouncing puck so I tried to settle it down,” Smith said. “I just saw an opening and I put it there.”
Thursday’s loss was the Sharks’ seventh straight. In five of those losses, the Sharks have been tied or ahead in the third period.
The Sharks will face a desperate Senators team that has lost five straight games and was four points out of a playoff spot as of Friday morning. The game could represent another chance for the Sharks to try and exhibit some growth, with Smith an increasingly likely candidate to be part of the solution.
“We’ve got to learn how to win,” Smith said. “It’s been I don’t know how many times this year, so it adds up and we’ve just got to be better.”
THRUN INJURED: Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun left Thursday’s game with an unspecified injury. Thrun once again began the game as the Sharks’ top pair defenseman, as he has since Cody Ceci was traded to Dallas on Feb. 1, but did not play the final 17:38 of the third period or in overtime.
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Thrun’s last shift came when Canadiens’ forward Alex Newhook scored to tie the game 3-3. After Klim Kostin bodychecked Owen Beck in the corner to the right of the Sharks net, Thrun picked up a loose puck but lost it in Kostin’s skate. The Canadiens pounced, and seconds later, Newhook got free and tapped a puck past goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
Thrun also missed the final five minutes of the first period. Warsofsky said after the game that the 23-year-old defenseman was “dealing with something” that happened earlier Thursday.
It was not immediately clear if Thrun would be available to play against the Senators. If he is unable, Jack Thompson, a healthy scratch against the Canadiens, would likely draw back into the lineup.
