Ryan Warsofsky has coached at nearly every level of hockey. He says this Sharks group feels different from anything he has seen before.
Speaking to NBC Sports California’s Natalie Noury, Warsofsky pointed to something unusual about this offseason — the roster had been together, skating and pushing each other, for nearly three full weeks before training camp even opened.
“This is the first time we’ve had about every guy here within three weeks of pre-training camp,” Warsofsky said. “They’re excited for where we need to get and how we need to get there. It’s a close group — we saw that last year. These guys play for each other. Every season is different, so we’ve got to continue to build that and let the new guys understand what our identity is, what our culture is about, and how we want to grow this organization.”
Asked whether he notices any generational divide between the team’s young core and its veterans, Warsofsky said the distinction barely registers.
“It doesn’t really matter for me what the number is — I don’t see that,” Warsofsky said. “I just see guys who really enjoy being around each other. They’re on the plane playing cards, going to dinner, goofing around in the lobby, playing ping pong after practice. They respect each other, compete hard in practice, and then pick up a paddle and laugh and giggle. You see them off the ice at Thanksgiving parties. That only brings our group closer.”
Macklin Celebrini, whose franchise-record 115-point season last year outproduced San Jose’s next two scorers combined, credited last year’s veteran presence for laying that foundation.
“It’s the same culture that those guys who left helped build,” Celebrini said, naming Mario Ferraro, Ryan Reeves, Vincent Desharnais and John Klingberg among last season’s departures. “We have a lot of younger guys who play into that as well, but I think it’s our job to keep it that way.”
Will Smith offered proof that the bond extends well beyond the season itself. The 21-year-old, who finished second in points on the team with 59 last season, said a group of Sharks — including new trade acquisition Michael Kesselring, Collin Graf and Quentin Musty — spent much of the summer together in Boston.
“We actually had a bunch of Sharks guys in the area for a bit,” Smith said. “Graf, Mack came for a bit, Kes was there all summer, Musty was there for a bit. Guys were making fun of us that the Sharks were all in Boston.”
For a franchise trying to end a lengthy Stanley Cup playoff drought behind one of the league’s most talented young cores, that kind of chemistry — built as much off the ice as on it — may prove just as valuable as anything the Sharks adds to their roster this season.