Sharks season preview: Misa joins Celebrini, Smith to help speed up rebuild

The 2025-26 NHL season starts Oct. 7. Leading up to the season opener, NHL.com is identifying six things to watch for each team. Today, the San Jose Sharks.

Last season: 20-50-12, eighth in Pacific Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Coach: Ryan Warsofsky (second season)

Biggest challenge

A little more patience from the organization and fan base. Sharks general manager Mike Grier wants the rebuild to start pushing forward after six seasons without playoffs and finishing no higher than sixth in their division. The front office had an aggressive offseason by signing veterans Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, Philipp Kurashev, John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov, trading for Alex Nedeljkovic and Ryan Reaves, and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. A fertile pipeline got stronger when 18-year-old center Michael Misa was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to join Macklin Celebrini (No. 1, 2024), Will Smith (No. 4, 2023) and William Eklund (No. 7, 2021). The next move is winning more than 20, 19 and 22 games from each of the past three seasons.

How they make the playoffs

Celebrini, a 2025 Calder Trophy finalist, flirts with Hart Trophy contention, the other young bucks defy their inexperience, at least one veteran turns back the clock and Yaroslav Askarov shows he belongs. Askarov, a 23-year-old goalie, gets his first chance to start full-time in the League. He's 5-7-2 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 16 NHL games (14 starts) but was 3-2 with an American Hockey League-best 1.68 GAA and .935 save percentage in the Calder Cup Playoffs last season. Maybe there's a little regression from the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers or Los Angeles Kings, or perhaps the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks or Seattle Kraken don't do enough, so there's that bit of an opening for the Sharks to make their move in the Pacific.

Most intriguing addition

Misa signed his entry-level contract Sept. 10, and the odds of proving himself are good after his 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games with Saginaw led the Ontario Hockey League and were the most in one season since Patrick Kane had 145 for London in 2006-07. He was Saginaw’s first player to win the Red Tilson Trophy given to the league's most outstanding player and the Eddie Powers Trophy as top scorer.

Biggest potential surprise

Warsofsky has raved about Luca Cagnoni since the 20-year-old defenseman played 23:15 in his NHL debut, a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 20. The fourth-round pick (No. 123) in the 2023 NHL Draft was the second skater (Danny O'Regan in 2016-17) and first defenseman from the San Jose Barracuda named to the 2024-25 AHL All-Rookie Team. Cagnoni impressed the coaching staff with an ability to run the power play, where the Sharks ranked 26th (18.6 percent) last season. "We struggled with breaking out pucks last year and that's one of his best things," Warsofsky said.

Ready to contribute

Sam Dickinson took the biggest climb up the organizational ladder when the defenseman had 91 points (29 goals, 62 assists) in 55 games to break Evan Bouchard's London record (87 in 2017-18) for most points at his position, and 31 (nine goals, 22 assists) in 17 playoff games to help the Knights win their second consecutive league championship. The 19-year-old isn't eligible to play in the AHL and can't go to the NCAA because he signed his entry-level contract July 10, 2024. If Dickinson breaks camp with the Sharks, they will have nine NHL games to decide if they want to keep him and burn the first season of his contract. "If we believe that the best spot for him to be is to develop with us, then that's what we'll do," Warsofsky said.

Fantasy sleeper with EDGE stats

Will Smith, F: From Jan. 20 to the end of the regular season, the only NHL rookie with more points than Smith (30 in 34 games) was his teammate, Celebrini (31 in 34 games). He’s expected to remain in a top-six role, which could mean more exposure to Celebrini at even strength or a spot next to Misa. Smith also ranked highly among rookies in even-strength points (33; tied for fifth) and power-play goals (five; tied for fourth) last season. Smith, who is not being drafted on average in fantasy, is ranked among NHL.com's top 15 for keeper and dynasty leagues. Per NHL EDGE stats, he ranked among the forward leaders in long-range shots on goal (27; 95th percentile) and average shot speed (63.24 mph; 91st percentile). -- Troy Perlowitz

Projected lineup

William Eklund -- Macklin Celebrini -- Tyler Toffoli

Jeff Skinner -- Michael Misa -- Will Smith

Philipp Kurashev -- Alexander Wennberg -- Collin Graf

Barclay Goodrow -- Ty Dellandrea -- Adam Gaudette

Dmitry Orlov -- John Klingberg

Shakir Mukhamadullin -- Nick Leddy

Mario Ferraro -- Timothy Liljegren

Yaroslav Askarov

Alex Nedeljkovic