The San Jose Sharks hosted their opening day of training camp on Thursday morning.
The Teal group, featuring players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Nick Leddy, and John Klingberg, to name a few, started things off with their practice. Notably, Cam Lund was originally slated to skate with the Teal group but did not take the ice. Carson Wetsch and Oliver Wahlstrom took the ice instead, after not being listed. While there were a couple of interesting moments, the highlight was certainly when Celebrini pulled out an ankle-breaker on Leddy.
During the post-scrimmage media availability, Smith noted that although he was previously expected to spend a considerable amount of time playing center this season, he’s expecting to mostly play on the wing. He added, “I also worked on draws over the summer a lot. [I] got some tips from a lot of really good centers in the NHL, so if I need to take a faceoff at the end of a game, or at any point, I can do it.
Smith also spoke about not being invited to USA Hockey’s Olympic Orientation Camp, stating: “[It] definitely fuels the fire. I think every guy wants to be on that team, and I love playing for my country.” He went on to add, “I’m not going to worry about it too much. America’s got a bunch of amazing players, as everyone knows.”
Leddy then spoke about his feelings about joining the Sharks after previously playing with the Blues, “There’s a lot of excitement. You look at this roster up and down, there’s a lot of skill, a lot of speed, good goaltending, so there’s a lot of excitement ahead.” He opted to keep what type of injury held him to just 31 games last season private, but did note, “I feel good. [I’m] very excited to have another chance to prove myself.”
Leddy also spoke highly of Celebrini, “I don’t know if you saw, but he danced me and I fell,” he started with a chuckle. He continued, “It goes back to his work ethic. He’s one of the first guys out there and one of the last guys off. That’s a sign of a true leader. I’ve seen many captains do that throughout the years.”
From there, the first scrimmage of training camp was held at TechCU Arena, with the aforementioned Teal group taking on the Black group, which included the likes of Mario Ferraro, Yaroslav Askarov, and the second-overall pick from this summer’s draft, Michael Misa.
In the two-period scrimmage, the first period was a goaltending duel as both Alex Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov were able to keep the puck out of the net. Scoring opened in the second period, when Mario Ferraro made a smart pinching play from the blue line, and after a couple of attempts, he was able to beat Teal’s goaltender, Joshua Ravensbergen. Lucas Vanroboys scored Black’s second goal, and an empty-net goal sealed Teal’s fate as the Black group won 3-0.
The Black group then took the ice at the Sharks Rink for their practice. Tyler Toffoli spoke with the media and was quickly asked about the possibility of assuming the captaincy this season. He replied, “If something like that were to happen, then obviously it'd be an incredible honor. But at the same time, with the guys that came in, there are a lot of guys that are capable of doing that. I think we have a general group of captains within our organization and our team in the locker room that all step up.”
Toffoli also noted a key similarity between Misa and Celebrini: “[Misa] always wants the puck. When you have a kid who's 18 years old and demanding the puck in the middle of the ice, that goes a long way. You look at Macklin, and he's the exact same way. Different players, obviously, but both demand the puck and want the puck. I think that alone is a really good sign for a bright career.”
William Eklund noted that he has fully recovered from his wrist injury ahead of the World Championships. He was also complimentary of Sharks forward prospect Igor Chernyshov, “Really good player. You know, he’s very strong on the puck.”
The biggest news coming out of Ferraro’s availability was undoubtedly regarding his current contract status. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and, as of now, there have been no contract extension discussions between him and the Sharks.
Macklin Celebrini was also requested by the media, but was unavailable due to illness.
Over the course of all the media availabilities, one thing stood above the rest. The Sharks are tired of losing, and they feel ready to take the next step, which, as Toffoli put it, is simple: “Not finish last.”
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