Sharks prepared after chummed season

A new NHL season is officially underway, and the San José Sharks are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2018–2019 season, when they won 46 games and finished with 101 points.

Since then, the Sharks have struggled to find that same success. Last season, they went 20-50-12, finishing with just 52 points.

However, there are signs of progress.

Center Macklin Celebrini, the team’s first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, returns for his sophomore season after scoring 25 goals and recording 38 assists in 70 games played.

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky believes Celebrini is ready to take the next step, despite experiencing some growing pains during his rookie season.

“We saw with Mack last year, they had a little bit of a wall at times and day to day and week to week, so we’ve got to manage that,” Warsofsky said. “He’s doing a pretty good job of bouncing back from maybe some days where he’s a little slower in a sense, so he’s done a good job.”

The former first-overall pick continues to praise the team’s new veterans, including winger Ryan Reaves, who joined San José after spending last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Reaves now stands as the oldest player on the Sharks at 38 years old.

Celebrini also spoke highly of veteran winger Tyler Toffoli, who has played in the NHL continuously since 2013.

Toffoli is entering his second season with the Sharks after scoring 30 goals and recording 24 assists last year.

Toffoli has 290 career goals and Reaves has 63, which should help bolster the Sharks’offense.

It could also help take some of the pressure off Celebrini, who ranked second among rookies in goals last season, trailing only Philadelphia

Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who led the group with 26.

“Both of them (Reaves, Toffoli), they’re just great people, great leaders, they have strong voices in our room, and when they talk, people listen to them,” Celebrini said. “I look up to both of them in different ways; they have their own strengths and stuff that they bring to our team.”

Last season, San José scored just 210 goals, ranking last in the NHL with 20 wins.

Along with Celebrini, the Sharks had nine draft picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. They also look to develop No. 2 overall pick Michael Misa, who, at just 18 years old, joins San José from the Saginaw Spirit, where he played for three seasons.

Misa now holds the title of the youngest player on the Sharks’ roster. Warsofsky believes he can have an immediate impact on the Sharks starting from day one.

“We need to get his pace going there, we gotta try to push that pace more often, but he did some good things,” Warsofsky said. “Some things in the play we gotta continue to work on with him. I think he’s put himself in a good position; we’ll see how the rest of the weekend falls.”

The Sharks also have center Ty Dellandrea, who is entering his second season with the team.

Dellandrea was previously selected 13th overall in the 2018 NHL draft by the Dallas Stars. He is also looking to take a step forward after scoring just one goal in 68 games last season.

“I worked on my skills a lot in skating, I think what I worked on was being more poised and not going 100 miles per hour everywhere,” Dellandrea said. “The more you play and more you get in the games, I definitely felt to slow down at a certain point, but then it was about making the play, finishing, being responsible.”

San José ended last season on an 11-game losing streak,  however, coach Warsofsky hopes to continue changing the culture for a team still searching for its first Stanley Cup Finals victory.

“You think about coaches at times, whatever happens, get let go, they retire, you miss being around the guys you miss the preparation, you miss the grind of it,” Warsofsky said. “So I try to enjoy it and embrace it, love being with my staff, keep pushing this thing forward and try to get better each and every day.”

The Sharks will officially open their season on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center.