NEW YORK — Ryan Warsofsky, at least online, has been under fire.

For the San Jose Sharks’ 0-4-2 start. Joking about sacrificing one of his children for a win. Sitting Michael Misa or Sam Dickinson or Shakir Mukhamadullin. Benching Will Smith. Playing Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Reaves, Nick Leddy, or virtually anybody over the age of 30 not named Tyler Toffoli or Alex Wennberg or Jeff Skinner.

Through it all, Warsofsky has stuck to his guns about the Sharks youngsters needing to learn “winning habits”, saying that phrase about a dozen times, over multiple interviews, since the beginning of the season.

“Winning habits were not good,” Warsofsky said on Oct. 11, after the Sharks lost their second-straight OT decision of the season, in large part because of Macklin Celebrini forcing the play and turning over the puck in the offensive zone. “Gotta keep working with these young guys and our team here to have an understanding of what that looks like.”

TOUCHDOWN 🏈

Leo Carlsson scores in @Energizer overtime to give the @AnaheimDucks the 7-6 win! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/ZKM2kP2RqZ

— NHL (@NHL) October 12, 2025

What does a winning habit look like here?

“Got to live to fight another day sometimes,” Celebrini, 19, said post-game. “I can’t turn over the puck there.”

Basically, learn to prize possession of the puck in overtime.

Not doing that was also how the Sharks lost, in part, on opening night:

UHHHHHHHHH????!!!

Reilly Smith scores the Subway Canada OT winner on one of the craziest goals you’ll see this year 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qTHCOi0czn

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 10, 2025

So to kick off overtime at Madison Square Garden, Sharks desperate for their first victory of the season, Celebrini with a hat trick, running mate Will Smith with three points, Warsofsky chose…to teach?

Warsofsky began OT with two-way center Alex Wennberg, instead of his best player.

“Wenny was really good in the faceoff dot,” Warsofsky explained, hoping that his 31-year-old pivot would give the Sharks possession from the get-go.

But also?

“A little bit of a lesson for the young guys. Sometimes, you get so excited to start [OT] and you have to go make something happen right away,” he said, a callback to the team’s two OT defeats to start the season. “I just wanted a veteran guy there.”

And when Celebrini and Smith hit the ice, right after Wennberg? Look how carefully they managed the puck.

First OZ foray, Smith (2) doesn’t like what the Rangers are giving him, so instead of going head-first into the defense, he retreats with full possession.

Re-group, Celebrini doesn’t hurry the pass to Smith, waiting for his linemate to turn and open up for an easy forehand reception, as opposed to Smith trying to catch a stretch pass on his backhand.

Credit again to the 20-year-old winger for his puck poise: Against Alexis Lafreniere (13), Smith waits for Celebrini to beat his check down the slot. That’s a Grade-A scoring chance for Celebrini, worth risking puck possession in OT for.

Celebrini, grabbing the rebound, then tries to catch Igor Shesterkin by surprise.

The rest is San Jose Sharks history.

Will Smith wins the game in OT on an incredible pass by Macklin Celebrini! #TheFutureIsTeal take this 6-5 over #NYR! pic.twitter.com/FYI4QEal4V

— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) October 24, 2025

Celebrini robs Braden Schneider (4), waits for a passing lane to open up, and threads it to Smith.

No one is telling the uber-talented Celebrini and Smith to not try plays, just to improve their risk calculation. Value the puck more.

For the much-criticized Warsofsky, it was a bold decision to start Wennberg in OT and use the World’s Most Famous Arena as the backdrop for a teaching moment.

Warsofsky would’ve been roasted online if the Rangers had scored on the opening shift of OT, his best attackers off the ice.

But Warsofsky has his eyes on the prize, those winning habits that should one day make the young Sharks a contender again.

“That’s what it’s all about. They’re learning lessons daily on how to play the game the right way and play with winning habits,” Warsofsky said. “I think they learned a big one tonight.”

Will Smith

Smith, on OT GWG:

It was all Mack. He made a great play there in the corner and stripped [the Rangers] again and found me this lot.

Will Smith, on finally winning: “Feels good. It’s been a tough six games, we could have had a couple W’s. But everything happens for a reason, and it’s good it came in MSG.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 24, 2025

Smith, on Ryan Reaves fighting Matt Rempe:

Oh, it’s unbelievable. He got us all going, and can’t say enough about him.

Smith, on who kept #SJSharks bench going after the Rangers tied it late: “It’s everyone, to be honest, starts with Warso and goes on the bench. We knew we needed to win that game, and that was big for us.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 24, 2025

Smith, on Celebrini’s hat trick:

It speaks for itself, to be honest, to do that in MSG on a huge stage and a game where we needed him.

Smith, on how happy he looked after his first goal, was his joy because of first goal of the season or getting the long two-man advantage goal:

Probably a little bit of both. (laughs) I think that’s a huge part of the game, 5-on-3 and in the third period, and pretty much took the whole two minutes.

Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini on what it’s like to be able to lean on eachother:

“It’s super special to have someone pretty much the same age as you — both leaving the college the same year and ever since that we’ve pretty much been inseparable.” @DailyFaceoff |… pic.twitter.com/ZjHbYygI30

— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) October 24, 2025

Ryan Reaves

Reaves, on why he threw his helmet on the ice for Celebrini’s hat trick: “I was just making sure there was something on the ice for him. Because we were away, so I didn’t know how far up the Sharks fans were, if they have good arms or not.”

Celebrini said he saw Reaves throw his…

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 24, 2025

Reaves, on fighting Matt Rempe:

He came up to me when I was talking to Panarin [in warm-ups], and said, “You want one?” I said, “Yeah, maybe.”

He asked me to go off the draw, and I said I was gonna go run somebody first. And then it happened immediately.

I can’t tell you all my tricks, otherwise everybody’s gonna know. He’s a big boy, and you have to fight guys like that a little bit differently. I’ve seen him fight, so I know what he’s good at, what his weaknesses are.

Reaves, on Celebrini’s game:

He’s a superstar in this league.

Macklin Celebrini

Celebrini, on Smith:

That’s what he does best. He’s a pretty special player. You’ve seen him before, the kind of plays he’s able to make.

Celebrini, on Reaves throwing his helmet on the ice for the hat trick and the veteran’s impact on the room in a tough time:

I did. I did. That’s pretty funny.

It’s just the kind of guy he is, person. Also on the ice, the impact he makes, and the physicality he brings, the force. Also, the message that he has, it helps carry our group.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky joked to us after this win, in reference to his kids: “Still got ‘em”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 24, 2025

Warsofsky, on Reaves:

He’s been awesome. I can’t say enough good things about this man. He brings energy to our room. He’s a veteran guy.

Knows how we want to play with structure. I mean, he’s yelling at guys in D-zone coverage where to go.

Yeah, he fights. He stands up for teammates. He protects teammates.

Has a huge block [in the game].

Leddy left with an upper-body injury, will be evaluated tomorrow

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 24, 2025

Warsofsky, on how Celebrini and Smith managed the pick in OT:

We obviously talked about it after that first game. We kept the puck. See Smitty comes out with the puck. We [create] a good chance to Mack again. We fight for a puck. Mack wins a puck, and then our skill comes out.

But for us, as an organization, to get where we want to go and keep growing this thing, we need to have winning habits. We got to understand when you are in your shifts, who you’re playing against, where the momentum is in the game. So those are things that as coaches, we’re preaching more than anything. I know Will and Mack and Eklund are going to create offense. That’s God-given ability. We got to start pounding on the winning habits and keep building on that.