StrawHatEklund
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Another 2 point performance puts him at 30 points in 55 games. 15 points in his last 15 games. Been killing it.
C Will Smith (2023, 4th, SJS)
- Thread starter GermanSpitfire
- Start date
Celebrini - Smith is looking like it's going to be a pretty great 1-2. If Dickinson pops, look out.
We're all excited. Add on Schaefer/Misa/Hagens from this upcoming draft too
Would a guy like Martone be more enticing than Hagens given that the Sharks have a lot of skill up front already, but not much beef?
Absolutely. I'm sure they'll consider all 4 depending where they slot after the lottery.
If the Sharks drop to three, it'll be extremely interesting who the pick is between those two. I think Hagens is the more impactful player overall, but team-building without considering fit is a terrible idea and that's how you end up like Buffalo.
I think they should take Hagens at 3. Martone really isn’t as aggressive and physical as he gets credit for.
If you want size, they already have Musty, Bystedt, and Halttunen in the pipeline. If you still think they need some bite, they could consider Martin, Cootes, Vansaghi, Genborg, or even Zonnon to an extent with Dallas’ pick.
Personally, I think Hagens hasn’t done anything to separate himself from Schaefer and Misa, but he’s separated himself from Martone. I think Hagens is a center at the NHL level, I’m not convinced Smith is a center long-term.
I think it would be a disaster for the Sharks to have another last place season and end up picking 3rd.
Why is that? The draft is a funny thing. If Demidov can go 5th overall, almost anybody can fall in the draft. I don’t think you can really go wrong picking top 7 in this draft. Honestly, any of Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, Martone, Eklund, Bear, and Frondell would make me very excited.
Here's his updated Player Card, from year-long stats. From Sharks fans, he's figured a lot more out in the last 15 games. I wouldn't at all call him a plus defensive player, but he's certainly improving a lot in positioning and not getting straight up toasted in board battles as a wing. Probably no longer playing as a 1st %ile 5 on 5 defensive player, per the card below. Lastly, it's not a big sample, but evidence indicates that Goals > xG because he's a f***ing sniper, not because he's lucky. The release is excellent at only age 19.
He's showing a bit of the "Pavelski" required to be an offensive menace without having plus skating -- he gets caught on breakaways because he doesn't have the speed, but he has two lethal 2 on 1 goals in the past 3 games because he read the play correctly and got onto a board chip with oodles of time and space, and his backdoor tap-in vs. the Sens was because he read the play extremely well and was actively positioning as an option from the moment the puck squirted to Celebrini in the corner. Not all about straight-line speed (which he doesn't really have).
He's showing a bit of the "Pavelski" required to be an offensive menace without having plus skating -- he gets caught on breakaways because he doesn't have the speed, but he has two lethal 2 on 1 goals in the past 3 games because he read the play correctly and got onto a board chip with oodles of time and space, and his backdoor tap-in vs. the Sens was because he read the play extremely well and was actively positioning as an option from the moment the puck squirted to Celebrini in the corner. Not all about straight-line speed (which he doesn't really have).
20 points in his last 19 games. He's really started to adjust to the speed of the game in the 2nd half of the season.
The most impressive thing about how well he's played lately is how little help he's had doing it. The Sharks traded his linemate in Granlund, and he kept on chugging with Andrew Poturalski on his line. They traded the Sharks' best offensive defenseman in Walman, no sweat. They traded his other linemate in Zetterlund and replaced him with grinders or Graf, and it hasn't affected his play. Basically everyone he shares the ice with is a rookie or a talentless smuck, other than Wennberg.
Is he playing at C or on the wings right now? He’s been on a tear lately and fun to watch (highlights)
Purely on the wing, while taking the right side OZ faceoffs. On the PP, he typically plays the high left point, drifting down to the half wall or top of circle, with Celebrini opposite and Wennberg at the top running the show. Eklund in the bumper, sometimes Toffoli but mostly he's down low.
His adjustment and improvement has been very impressive; I guess it is a theme of his career! Hope he can build upon it in the offseason.
I guess they will give him another shot at center right from the get go next season… the long term plan at this point is to have him as the #2 center.
Need to get him some linemates, preferably ones with size and speed and a few d-men who can get him the puck. Losing Zetterlund and Walman means a lot less forward progression for the Sharks and Smith, but I'd not have forecasted him hitting 40 points this year. Wennberg and Graf have been good with him to their credit.
Definitely possible. I think it depends on the team next season. Wennberg has been fantastic since he came back from injury and he’s really the main skill Smith is playing with. Issue is he’s exclusively a C. I think it really depends if we can give Smith some skill that can help cover defensively for him similarly to how Haula helps (or at least helped) Hughes early on.
