Sharks eager to 'push this thing forward' behind youthful core

Macklin Celebrini joked that the biggest difference about him entering this season with the San Jose Sharks was his age.

"I'm getting old, almost 20," the center said with a laugh at Hockey Canada's 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp in August.

All kidding aside, Celebrini, the No. 1 pick by San Jose in the 2024 NHL Draft, talked of growth -- growth from going through his rookie season, watching and learning from teammates and opponents.

It's fitting, since growth and building on it is a big mantra this season for the youthful Sharks, who open against the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN360).

Last season was a learning experience for the Sharks (20-50-12, eighth in Pacific Division). They return a little older, wiser and determined to find more success.

"We have to push this thing forward," coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "That's the next step."

San Jose got a good look at some of its top youth last season. Celebrini led the Sharks with 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy awarded to the League's top rookie. Forward William Eklund, 22, was second (58 points; 17 goals, 41 assists in 77 games). Center Will Smith, 20, was tied for fourth (45 points; 18 goals, 27 assists in 74 games).

Alexander Wennberg, a 31-year-old forward, was impressed with how the Sharks' youth handled adversity.

"I've been on a few teams," Wennberg said at the NHL/NHLPA European Player Media Tour last month. "I've seen a lot of young guys but for me, I would just start with Celebrini; to watch him play the game, the way he's handling himself outside, on the ice, everything is just unbelievable to watch. He's going to be one of the best in the League for sure. Watching him in what he does, it's impressive. You can just see through the year, he grows even more and more.

"Will Smith, maybe a little slower start but the same thing. The skill they have and the ability they have to take over and make a difference, it's something you as a player, you're really impressed to be able to do that at a young age. You're going to be looking back when you're done with your career, looking at the players you played with, and you see how they grew. It's just fun to be part of the journey and see them even this next year take another step."

Celebrini and Smith aren't the only ones learning from their rookie seasons; Warsofsky wrapped up his first season as an NHL head coach and he's expecting to make some system changes based on what he learned in 2024-25.

"They're not huge, drastic changes; it's just more details, a couple of things that'll possibly help with breaking out pucks and defensively on our own end," Warsofsky said. "Taking away time and space from teams that got us going in our own end there a little bit and hopefully we can clean up those areas and then can transition to more offense.

"At the end of the day, you have to defend and keep pucks out of the back of your net, but you also have to score and win hockey games. Hopefully, we're thinking with 'Mac' and Will having more experience, we can help their games and [the Tyler] Toffolis and [Philipp] Kurashevs and all the guys we've brought in to maybe drive a little more offense and put teams under pressure a little bit more."

The Sharks gave Celebrini some things to work on during the offseason, including finding some patience in his game.

"He's getting some really good looks and sometimes he wants to shoot it through the goalie instead of just picking a spot," Warsofsky said. "It doesn't have to always be a 97 mile-per-hour wrist shot. It can be the placement. Obviously goalies are good, and release is equally important. [It's] those types of things and continue to evolve as a player without the puck with winning habits."

Smith started at center last season but was moved to the wing. It took him time to adjust but in the second half, he started feeling more comfortable and had more production; 22 of his 45 points were in the 25 games following the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Warsofsky said the plan is for Smith to do the same this season.

"He's smart enough to play the middle of the ice, but we also like him playing with Mac in a sense," Warsofsky said. "With Will, his hockey IQ is extremely high. We think he can play both, but [we] want to make him comfortable and start growing this thing. He's fully on board."

The Sharks could get a glimpse at other potential stars this season, including center Michael Misa, 18, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, defenseman Sam Dickinson, 19, the No. 11 selection in the 2024 draft, and 23-year-old goalie Yaroslav Askarov, a first-round pick (No. 11) by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Draft and traded to San Jose on Aug. 23, 2024.

"It's definitely pretty cool to go through the rebuild and whatnot that the Sharks are going through right now, to be a part of it," Dickinson said. "Obviously I've been lucky enough to get to know a lot of the guys who are already there really well. And playing against [Igor] Chernyshov and [Quentin] Musty and Misa, guys that I've been lucky enough to get to know even more over the last little bit."

San Jose boasts young talent. The players are hungry and determined to bring the franchise back to prominence and are ready to grow from what they learned last season.

"We've talked a lot about where we want to go and building, and I think this year will be a good measuring stick to see progress," Celebrini said. "We need to win some more games, win some of those tight games. I think that'll really show kind of the steps we're taking."

NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke, deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report