William Eklund and Will Smith won’t play Friday night when the San Jose Sharks face the Winnipeg Jets to finish a three-game road trip. However, each strikers will likely be out for various reasons.
Eklund is battling an upper-body injury suffered within the Sharks' 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. Eklund had two assists in 19 minutes of ice time against the Hawks and stated after the sport that he was removed from 100% healthy.
However, Smith will likely be a healthy scratch, but not due to his poor play. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Friday morning that Smith's appearance against the Jets is a component of the team's development plan for the 19-year-old center, who’s entering his first skilled season.
“It has nothing to do with performance, it's just part of the plan and he will be out tonight,” Warsofsky said of Smith, who could return to the lineup as early as Sunday when the Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche.
Smith had his best night in a Sharks jersey on Thursday, Warsofsky said.
Playing in front of about 50 friends and relations in Chicago, Smith logged a career-high 19 minutes of ice time while centering a line with Luke Kunin and Barclay Goodrow. According to Natural Stat Trick, this line had a Corsi-for percentage of 80, with the trio combining for five shots on goal.
“Best game he ever played,” Warsofsky said of Smith, who has gone pointless in 4 NHL games. “Looked more comfortable, was more engaged, ran more, played with the puck more. I think it was definitely a step in the right direction.”
Danil Gushchin and Givani Smith will replace Will Smith and Eklund within the lineup, even though it was not yet clear which line they may play on. Gushchin, who has had a healthy gap within the last three games, skated with Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund on the Sharks' top line in Chicago on Wednesday when the ailing Eklund didn’t practice.
The strategy the Sharks are using with Will Smith will not be unusual for young players.
Last season, the Anaheim Ducks used a load management strategy with center Leo Carlsson, whom they chose second overall within the 2023 NHL Draft. Instead of bringing the then 18-year-old back to Sweden or sending him to the AHL to achieve more skilled experience on North American ice, the Ducks kept Carlsson on their roster with built-in breaks.
Carlsson played 55 of 82 games for the Ducks, a complete not much different than the 44 games he played in his final yr with Orebro HK within the Swedish Hockey League within the 2022–23 season. With Anaheim, the 1.90 meter tall Carlsson had 29 points and averaged just over 18 minutes of ice time per game.
When asked if the Ducks' plan for Carlsson and the Sharks' plan for Will Smith were similar, Warsofsky didn’t provide any information. Smith played 41 games for Boston College last yr and led all NCAA Division I players with 71 points.
“I can’t speak for the Ducks’ plan with Leo,” Warsofsky said. “That’s our plan with Will, and we’re going with him.”
It's unclear how rather more time Eklund has to miss. After Sunday's game, the Sharks begin a four-game road trip Oct. 22-28 with stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Utah. Eklund has three assists in 4 games and leads all Sharks forwards with a mean of 21:36 of ice time per game.
Without Smith, Macklin Celebrini (lower-body injury) and Eklund, Friday's game is a possibility for Gushchin to get back within the lineup and prove he deserves to remain there.
Gushchin had a superb training camp with nine points in 4 preseason games, but hasn't played in a game for the reason that Sharks' season opener against St. Louis on Oct. 10, when he had 10:20 of ice time. Warsofsky wouldn't say where Gushchin might place against a Jets team that’s outscoring opponents 10-2 while off to a 3-0-0 start.
“He’ll get a good opportunity,” Warsofsky said of Gushchin. “He has to do what he did in training camp. He needs to understand that this is a really good opportunity for him to play important minutes and help our hockey team and establish himself.”
CELEBRINI UPDATE: Warsosky said Celebrini continues to undergo weekly rehabilitation, but added that the 18-year-old centerman is getting closer to getting back on the ice.
“I'm focused on the guys here today because there's a big game coming up tonight,” Warsofsky said. “I would say still week by week, but I think he’s getting closer.”
The Sharks' offense has struggled without Celebrini, scoring just 4 goals within the last three games, all at even strength. The power play was 0:9 during this time.
Warsofsky said he wanted the facility play to have “more of an attack mentality.”
“Obviously this has changed the personnel in almost every single game,” he said, “so we have to build chemistry and work on developing the guys’ skills individually on the power play.”
Originally published:
image credit : www.mercurynews.com