CHICAGO — Will Smith is a much better player than he was in his rookie year.
The sophomore San Jose Sharks star is also just 21, so he has a ways to go before he hits his prime.
Smith has 23 goals and 57 points in just 67 games, a big step from 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games last year.
Smith’s improvement hasn’t just been simply on the scoresheet, either.
Smith, Macklin Celebrini, Alex Wennberg, San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky, NHL scouts, and Stathletes micro-stats discuss how the 2023 No. 4 pick has improved.
“More assertive offensively,” Scout #1 said.
Everyone can see that Smith is more confident with the puck than he was last season, and the micro-stats back it up.
Zone Entries
Smith is creating a lot more offense on a typical 5-on-5 zone entry now.
According to Stathletes, he’s an 89 percentile expected threat, among all NHL forwards, on a zone entry now, far more dangerous than last year’s 65 percentile.
Entries xThreat are “expected goals created (from passing or carrying) off of zone entry attempts.”
“I think that’s something that he’s worked on and understands when he has time to make a play and when he doesn’t, and he’s got real good feel for that,” Warsofsky said.
“It’s definitely intentional,” the San Jose Sharks winger said. “Last year was my first year playing wing, so you obviously don’t get more puck touches coming through the middle, as you do as a center. So this year, I wanted to have more controlled entries.”