It’s safe to say most San Jose Sharks fans will likely be interested in following the team’s young players this season. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and others will team up to form one of the most intriguing groups of up-and-comers in the entire NHL. They will have one of the most prominent roles of any young core in the league, receiving a rare opportunity to be major offensive contributors. In an even more unusual twist, they will make up a key part of the team’s power play, a spot often reserved for established, offensive-minded veterans. Their efforts with the man advantage will have a major impact on the start of their careers, and by extension can affect the Sharks both this season and in the future.
Young Sharks Have Skills Worthy of Power Play
Despite just entering the NHL, some of San Jose’s newest players will already be among their most offensively skilled. Celebrini is equally capable of scoring a goal and dishing out an assist, and made great plays to register one of each — both on the power play — in his preseason debut. Once he returns from his reportedly minor injury, he will resume his spot on that unit and serve as a central part of it. Smith hasn’t found the same results in the preseason yet, but his production at the junior and collegiate levels show he is highly capable of contributing to a power-play offense.
Expanding beyond the two rookies, William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund are slightly older and more experienced, but both are still key players in the Sharks’ main group of young players. They will also be integral to the power play, continuing their work from last season. In 2023-24, Eklund and Zetterlund finished first and second respectively on the team in power-play goals while also being among the leaders in power-play assists. Whether split among the two power-play units or all on the same unit, all four players should get a lot of time on the ice when a man up.
Sharks Veterans Can Work With Young Players
While young forwards may make up the core of the Sharks’ power play, they can’t comprise the entire unit themselves. San Jose added a number of veterans in the offseason, and while those players will provide benefits in many different ways, some of the strongest benefits will come on the power play.
We have already seen one such example in the preseason, when Celebrini made a fantastic no-look pass to Tyler Toffoli for a goal, giving the rookie his aforementioned assist. The Sharks may look to keep the two of them together on the man advantage, allowing them to develop chemistry. They may also open up scoring opportunities for one another, which will obviously benefit the team as well as themselves.
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Elsewhere on the roster, Alex Wennberg could see some power-play time, most likely on the second unit, while Jake Walman or Cody Ceci may play from the point as a power-play defenseman. It’s not just the new acquisitions, however: Mikael Granlund will remain involved, and Matt Benning might make some appearances as he comes back from injury.
The Sharks are leading toward a promising future, but the players who are just starting their NHL careers can’t do it alone. They’ll need help from their more established teammates, and that’s just as true of the power play as it is anywhere else.
Power-Play Youth Could Impact Sharks’ Schemes
Given that the Sharks are retooling their power play with a lot of new players, they may need to do some experimentation to figure out the best possible lineups. Specifically, they could explore the possibility of using a five-forward power play.
The Sharks have legitimate reasons to do so. They don’t have a clear top offensive defenseman, and they’ve brought in a lot of good young forwards who deserve a chance on the power play. They used it a bit last season, and their power play actually improved from 2022-23 by about two percentage points despite the departure of previous power-play quarterback Erik Karlsson. Many of their players and coaches are already familiar with the concept, and the lack of expectations for the team this season gives them some freedom to test different formations. A unit consisting of, say, Celebrini, Toffoli, Granlund, Eklund and Zetterlund could be one possible combination.
Even if the Sharks choose not to use this unconventional setup, they will need to take their time figuring out the best personnel to put on their power play. They can afford to do so, but no matter what they choose, their young core will be in the middle of it.
Sharks Hope This Season Marks Power Play Turnaround
Although the San Jose power play improved last season from the season before, it still ranked in the bottom half of the NHL. With more young, skilled players than they’ve had in years, the Sharks want this season to be the season the unit accelerates, perhaps reaching the top half of the league and marking a starting point for a larger turnaround of the team’s offense. If they succeed, the young players will be a fundamental part of it, and can bring the momentum from this season into the future of Sharks hockey.
