Should Ryan Warsofsky Place More Trust In The San Jose Sharks Youngsters?

The San Jose Sharks started the 2026-27 regular season with three wins in their first four games, including victories over the Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues.

But since then, they’ve dropped two of three games, losing to the high-octane Edmonton Oilers and the plucky Boston Bruins. And while the Sharks have a decent 4-3-0 record, they haven’t won in regulation, with three overtime wins and one shootout win. That’s a bit concerning.

Equally concerning is that San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky doesn’t currently have much trust in many of his young players. Superstar Macklin Celebrini does have Warsofsky’s trust, averaging a team-best 22:02, but 2026 second overall pick, Ivar Stenberg, averages only 15:37. Young star center Michael Misa averages only 13:31, while 20-year-old winger Igor Chernyshov averages just 13:57. 

Like many coaches, all of whom are under daily pressure to win and win now, Warsofsky is relying on his veterans to carry the bulk of the load. Five of San Jose’s top-nine minute-earners are veterans, including defensemen Jacob Trouba (averaging 21:46 of time on ice), Darnell Nurse (20:35), Michael Kesselring (19:26) and Dmitry Orlov (18:36) and forward Alexander Wennberg (20:05).

San Jose’s core is clearly one of the most exciting in the league. However, that young core still needs time to find its footing and graduate to the next level of competitiveness. 

All of this isn’t to say the Sharks shouldn’t have internal expectations of being a Stanley Cup playoff team this year. But that does mean the road forward for this franchise, like every franchise, will have at least a few bumps.

Celebrini is in a class of his own, and with six assists and eight points in five games, he’s producing at a terrific 1.60 points-per-game pace. But even Celebrini cannot will this San Jose team to victory night in and night out. He’ll need youngsters, including Will Smith, Sam Dickinson, Stenberg, Misa, and Chernyshov, to contribute meaningfully. And some nights, that consistency is going to be lacking. 

It is somewhat of a letdown that the Sharks currently have the sixth-worst offense, averaging only 2.57 goals-for. But they’ve also got the league’s eighth-worst defense, averaging 3.57 goals-against. In sum, they’re still working out their identity, which means more uneven play. 

The taxing 84-game season is more punishing than ever, especially with youngsters still adapting to the daily grind. Only the truly great, cream-of-the-crop NHLers transition seamlessly to the top of the professional hockey food chain. That’s what we’ve seen in a generational talent like Celebrini. But for virtually everyone else, there will be a necessary acclimation process. 

One day, maybe a couple of seasons from now, Misa will have settled into a key role. The same goes for Smith, Stenberg, and Chernyshov. But Warsofsky’s primary job is to get this San Jose team into the post-season this year, so we should expect him to continue leaning on his veterans. 

In this writer’s estimation, the Sharks definitely should be a playoff team. But if there are some lateral steps or regressions of one sort or another, that’s just the cost of doing business as the team evolves from one dealing with a significant playoff drought to one with legitimate designs on a championship.

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