October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nPure filth.<\/p>\n
Now, Celebrini is no lock to play in the Olympics, but he\u2019s making it increasingly harder for Team Canada to keep him off the roster. The conversation is already shifting more toward what role he\u2019d have.<\/p>\n
Whether he\u2019s a top 10 player right now is still highly debatable, but there\u2019s growing evidence that he will be. Per Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Celebrini joined five other teens in NHL history with 16 points in their first 10 games. The names: Trottier, Gretzky, Hawerchuk, Sidney Crosby and Steve Yzerman.<\/p>\n
2) Askarov not snatching the No. 1 job<\/p>\n
The early overall numbers for Yaroslav Askarov are rough. There\u2019s the one win in six starts, but the uglier stats are an .844 save percentage and 4.69 goals-against average. MoneyPuck has him near the bottom among all NHL goalies when it comes to his 4.2 fewer saves made than the average netminder. Nights like Tuesday, when he gave up four goals on just 14 shots, are those you want to toss, particularly when your teammates dominate play.<\/p>\n
It was a step back after some encouraging performances of late, particularly in New Jersey, where the 23-year-old was outstanding in limiting the scorching Devils to two goals. He also came up clutch in Minnesota as the Sharks were completely hemmed in their zone during overtime until Celebrini came off the bench and broke loose.<\/p>\n
Askarov didn\u2019t start on opening night, but he\u2019s gotten six of the nine games since. Alex Nedeljkovic will get his work, but this season will be about developing Askarov in his first full NHL campaign.<\/p>\n
3) The blue line is better but not by a lot<\/p>\n
Askarov and Alex Nedeljokic aren\u2019t working behind a lockdown defense corps or a system where every forward is ultra-committed to defensive play first. The Sharks still trade chances, allowing an average of 31.0 shots per game. It is a slight improvement over last year\u2019s 31.8 average and both are better than their horrendous 2023-24 season. But the offseason investment in their blue line is having some positive effect.<\/p>\n
Dmitry Orlov has become its leader. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $13 million free-agent contract and is averaging 23 minutes while producing a defense-topping eight assists. His advanced metrics are among the best for the blueliners. The same can\u2019t be said for Timothy Liljegren, but his expected goals allowed per 60 is better than the actual in five-on-five play. He\u2019s been a steady presence for the most part.<\/p>\n
4) Speaking of potential trade pieces<\/p>\n
Liljegren is one of San Jose\u2019s many pending unrestricted free agents. Most of them are on the blue line, but there are also forwards such as Alexander Wennberg and Jeff Skinner. Wennberg has chipped in five points and remains a solid depth center. Skinner was signed to score goals and perk up his value. He has three in nine games, though he was a healthy scratch in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Nick Leddy is on injured reserve after taking a big hit from the New York Rangers\u2019 Will Cuylle, though Leddy could return sooner than later. John Klingberg has some unsightly defense metrics but he\u2019s back from injury and played 25:33 Tuesday. The best trade chip may still be Mario Ferraro, who is chewing 20-plus minutes on occasion and still has that friendly trade-inducing $3.25 million cap hit.<\/p>\n
5) The penalty kill remains substandard<\/p>\n
Another positive out of Tuesday\u2019s defeat is that the Sharks had only one penalty to kill off, which they did. But that doesn\u2019t erase the struggles over the first nine games. Before facing the Kings, the Sharks had given up power-play goals in seven of those contests and allowed multiple in four of those games. The 11 power-play goals given up are only one fewer than the Ottawa Senators\u2019 league-high 12.<\/p>\n
It has been said a time or two that the goaltender is a team\u2019s best penalty killer. Unfortunately, San Jose isn\u2019t getting enough saves from its duo. Nedeljkovic is fine in allowing two goals in 13 short-handed situations, but Askarov has been torched for nine goals in the 47 times he\u2019s dealt with his team down a player or two. There are many other goalies with worse power-play save percentages, but it\u2019s still a smudge mark.<\/p>\n
6) Eklund soars under the radar<\/p>\n
Perhaps caught up in the Celebrini jet stream is how William Eklund continues to progress as an impact player. The 23-year-old left wing typically doesn\u2019t play with their stud center, but he\u2019s become the chief piece of their second line and that could prove huge in deepening the San Jose lineup as more skill gets added to that group in the coming years. He has a modest four-game point streak but two of those are three-point efforts.<\/p>\n
Those help make him the Sharks\u2019 second-leading scorer, just ahead of Smith. Eklund may not wind up at a point-per-game over the full 82 but he\u2019s coming off a 58-point season and continues to trend upward. And while he bet on himself with a three-year bridge deal that starts next season, Eklund is already making a future $5.6 million cap hit look like a wise wager for both sides.<\/p>\n
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241112162-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Michael Misa, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, is finding his way in the NHL. (Ezra Shaw \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
7) Misa is coming along nicely<\/p>\n
In only 10 minutes of ice time Tuesday \u2013 three of which came on the power play \u2013 Michael Misa had a game-high eight shots on goal. One was a great chance at the net stopped by Darcy Kuemper. But the 18-year-old has been leaving an imprint while getting around 12 minutes on average. His first road trip had points in three straight games, the last of which featured his first NHL goal Sunday in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
The Sharks have put Misa on a similar plan to the one they used with Smith early last season in sitting him out a game when they play on consecutive nights. Tuesday was his sixth game and it\u2019s looking more likely that he stays in San Jose and steadily gets more responsibility as the season goes along. If he has a second-half surge like Smith last year, it\u2019d be a big boost to the Sharks\u2019 2026-27 plans.<\/p>\n
8) Dickinson isn\u2019t Schaefer<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t easy playing defense in the NHL, much less if you\u2019re a 19-year-old rookie. Unless you\u2019re Matthew Schaefer, who just turned 18 and went right from being the No. 1 pick in the draft to becoming the New York Islanders\u2019 best blueliner overnight. Sam Dickinson might have dominated the junior level and won a Memorial Cup, but not every first-round pick steps into a defense corps and makes an immediate impact.<\/p>\n
Plays like leaving noted net fiend Corey Perry alone in front for a greasy goal Tuesday will shorten a coach\u2019s leash. If the 19-year-old AHL loan rule were in effect this season instead of next, Dickinson might have been better served growing and developing there while grabbing a lot of minutes the way prospect Luca Cagnoni is doing. But his advanced metrics are decent and maybe his Sharks baptism will be beneficial in the long run.<\/p>\n
9) Reaves is a goal scorer<\/p>\n
Seriously? Seriously. Well, maybe not-so-seriously. But with two goals already in his first eight games with the Sharks, Ryan Reaves has more than last season\u2019s zero in 35 games with Toronto and is halfway to the four he scored with the Maple Leafs over 49 contests in 2023-24.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old won\u2019t play a lot \u2013 he logged just 3:42 over nine shifts despite scoring Sunday in Minnesota \u2013 and ideally shouldn\u2019t be in the lineup every single night. But the pugilist is up to 65 goals and 921 games while livening up every dressing room he\u2019s been in. Reaves can still swing his fists, as evidenced by taking on New York Rangers behemoth Matt Rempe, and get around the ice well enough to dish out 35 hits. That\u2019s 34.57 hits per 60 minutes.<\/p>\n
10) Warsofsky has hit some bumps<\/p>\n
There was relief in the Warsofsky household as the 38-year-old head coach didn\u2019t need to sacrifice either of his children for San Jose to get its first win after a season-opening six-game winless streak. He later apologized for the remark, but we understood his frustration as his second season immediately began to circle the drain. The reality is Year 2 should be one where the Sharks move forward.<\/p>\n
Though his team played well and had a spirited rally Tuesday, Ryan Warsofsky still hasn\u2019t solved their penchant for letting leads or tied games get away in the third period. Everyone knew his first season had no expectations. Just being more competitive was a victory. That\u2019s bubbled into this year, but more actual wins are the goal. He has exciting pieces and a group that can fill the net on some nights. Now it\u2019s time to show if he can coax great performances out of a blend of bright-light youths and workmanlike vets.<\/p>\n
A word of advice, though. Leave Celebrini and Smith together. That\u2019s magic you don\u2019t mess with.<\/p>\n