Will Smith Expected To Sign ELC And Join The San Jose Sharks

Will Smith Expected To Sign ELC And Join The San Jose Sharks

Will Smith is expected to sign his ELC and join the Sharks this summer why this is the right move for him you’re locked on sharks your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello welcome to locked on sharks the premere hockey podcast cing your favorite team in the Bay Area my name is JD young caretaker at The Reef also the co-host of Western Conference Tuesdays on the lock on NHL Channel I want to thank you for making locked on sharks your first listen probably by the lock on network we cover your team every day even when projected for sh pick are supposed to sign so if you want to be an everyday all you have to do is just follow wherever you get Podcast or you can watch this on YouTube as well and Shang Pang of San Jose hockey now reports that Will Smith is expected to sign his ealc uh en Joy the Sharks we’re going to dive into that what that means for the Will Smith why it’s the right decision look at how the sharks are going to have to manage both having celebrini and Smith on the team this year and then of course we’re going to do a little uh projected lines and kind of see where the Sharks should probably attack in free agency to try to make sure they put Smith and celebrini in the best possible position positions to succeed so before we get into all that do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms and conditions apply um we were supposed to do Becket senica uh that’s twice now poor Becket senica’s had his uh had his draft profile bumped so that should be tomorrow if you’re looking for the senica profile I’m sorry guys it’s coming I promise it’s ready it’s it’s been recorded it’s sitting there ready to go I’m actually have to re-record the intro for it because uh yeah anyway Will Smith expected to sign his ELC and join the shark so just as a friendly reminder uh with NCAA athletes once you sign your contract you are no longer eligible to be an amateur athlete uh so once Will Smith decides to sign his contract There’s No Going Back to Boston College right that is kind of that’s the big decision with him right that’s why Quinton musty and Casper Casper hton they’ve already signed their contracts and now Luca Canon from the 2023 draft class because they’re playing in juniors right um Good Luck to to Casper hton as he continues you know in the Memorial Cup but that’s the big thing right just as a reminder you know once College athletes sign their ELC they can’t go back there’s no going back we can’t go back um so that’s why this decision is so big another tangent that’s worth exploring for somebody else way smarter than me is well now that college athletes can get paid does this change the decision with elcs and college athletes but that’s a discussion for a different day so Will Smith is going to be signing his ELC this summer uh we’re going to go into the premise that he does um you know I I don’t think it’s if Shang pang’s reporting it I’m confident that it’s going to happen right Shang Pang is um I say he’s the best beat writer out there when it comes to sharks yes I’m biased um but Shang is the best right we shang’s been on the show before um like he he knows his stuff he’s not just going to put this out there unless he knows it’s it’s going to happen so um there could be a decision where will smth goes you know what at the very last second maybe gets cold feet wants to go back etc etc but we’re going to go under the presumption that Will Smith is signing his ELC and will be a member of the San Jose Sharks come the fall this is the right move guys um and I know I get it they’re like you don’t want to rush him you don’t want it like his development etc etc I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again if Will Smith went back to Boston College it would be very much big fish in a small pond where he would not be able to work on the things that that he needs to work on and Elite prospects put out this uh when they were doing their kind of final Frozen Four coverage they put out this graph that’s kind of stuck with me for a while Boston College Fords they they break down their their analytics so the perau Smith Leonard line played 433 minutes last year their cor C4 was 61.1% so how many shot attempts that they took that’s a percentage of shot attempts they uh that were they took when on the ice so the other team was getting less than 40% of the shots the actual shots on goal was 60 almost 64% and the goals for was a staggering 84 almost 85% how how is this line going to do would this line have looked going back for a second year as as sophomores and yes maybe you know with with gutter cutter go gone this L maybe they they faced a little bit stiffer competition right now was kind of the great thing about the this Boston colleges you had two legit number one lines but still um this line was just going to go and wck shop again and while Will Smith does have his things he needs to work on right and I think I think being playing playing stronger defense and that’s going to be something that he’s going to work on need to work on um he’s not going to be able to do that in at Boston College uh because I think this team especially that line would just continue to do what we saw them do last year as freshman oh now they’re sophomores right like the the best way to play like if you have to play defense the best way to actually play defense is by playing defense and in the NHL he is going to have to play defense okay and there’s things that the sharks can do to to help him along I think that we’ll talk about that kind of a little bit more especially with celebrini on the roster um what what the Sharks will do will need to do there but yes I know the NHL is not a developmental league but Will Smith is going to develop more by playing the NHL next year than he would by playing a full season in Boston College uh because one he’s GNA be playing just playing more games right going from a 40 game schedule to an 82 game schedule two he’s playing tougher competition night in and night out and yes the NHL is non developmentally but you’re going to develop when you’re playing tougher competition and you’re playing more games so I think for will Smith this is the best path for him to get better um if we you know multiverses and put Will Smith the the Will Smith timeline where he goes back to Boston College for his sophomore year and the Will Smith timeline where he plays in the NHL this year I think a year from now we be looking at the Will Smith in the NHL as a better player because of the experience he got playing in the NHL and I’m willing to bet on that and yes there’s concerns on um you know maybe the lack of size you know the the defensive effort but I think all that stuff when push comes to shove and he has to actually do it um it’ll be fine and plus wils Smith’s amazing offensively I think we forget about that part about it it’s just like we focus on what he can’t do and forget about what he can do what he can do is he can drive play and he can make his linemates better uh and I am willing to bet that upside um there there’s ways to cover up defensively making sure he’s with the right linemates you know uh putting him with you know putting him in positions to succeed but we forget like oh yeah he just had one of the best freshman Seasons we’ve ever seen in like the past 30 years and um you know if it wasn’t for mcin Sol Labrini he’s probably winning the homie maker um or you know uh he’s definitely a finalist for it so um I I I think we are we look so much on what he can’t do what he you know what he needs to work on that you forget about why he was drafted fourth overall uh and the offensive skill set that he has and that shot that the hockey IQ and playing with other players of high hockey IQ and yes Ryan Leonard and GPR are amazing players and I’m sure they’re going to be amazing players but the best thing for will to become the best player possible is to make him have to adapt to new scenarios and get him away from his comfort zone of playing with uh Ryan Leonard and Gabe perau and putting him against tougher competition and letting him try to kind of figure things out the learning curve is going to be much steeper for Will Smith but I think a year from now we’re gonna be looking back and saying this was the right move for Smith as he you know hopefully kind of he is able to adaptt to this a tougher game um tougher competition more games but I think he’s going to be a better player for it’s very much like throwing him in the deep end but there’s ways I think where we can when we’ll explore that here in a minute where you’re not totally syn or swim with him I think there we we’ll dig into what to do with there especially with M and celebrini expected to be on the roster so uh we’ll dig into that we then we’ll also look at projected lines with Smith and celebrini on the team and what I would do to try to make sure that these guys are both put in a position to [Music] succeed if you’re looking for tickets for the NBA finals or maybe you want to go catch an A’s game uh you want to go catch a Giants game or go catch a nice concert in the summer nothing better than summer constant you need to check out game time they have killer last minut deals all in prices used from your seat and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guest work out of buying NBA tickets or whatever tickets you are looking for the thing I love about them the most um is you can actually see your seats uh from the app you know exactly what you’re going to your view is going to look like only thing wor there’s nothing worse than getting to an event or realizing you have bad seats actually the only thing worse than that is when you go to check out and you get slammed with a bunch of fees that’s what if they’re all in priceing you know exactly what you’re going to pay when you go to check out no surprises no sticker shock none of that they they tell you upfront these are the costs of your tickets so take the guest where got to buying NBA Finals tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code locked on NHL l c k d o n NHL for $20 off your first purchase download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed all right um we know Will Smith’s going to be here we know Maan cini is gonna be here so how do you manage two you know 19 and 18 year old kids on the roster and I think that is going to be what my career is focused on right last summer we talked about how William eckan is the most important person on the roster they should do everything they can to make sure he’s put in a position to succeed and had his very much sink and swim moments right where he powered through it he went through some struggles right um but you saw how he started kind of on the third line and by the end of the season he was a first line player um for the Sharks team and had a really excellent close to the season right I think very much com you know capped off by that the the hatrick day hatrick on hat day right and now that’s kind of the moment I think where a lot of us is uh thinking about kind of with with with him and what what he’s done so um sorry but how do you protect Smith and celebrini having two young guys on this roster and I think it’s very important to surround them with veteran Talent right um and if that means breaking up the L line which was successful at the beginning at the end of the season last year I think you have to do it right um you know Mel grin’s going to be on the roster you know Fabian zin’s going to be on the roster um you’re hoping Logan Cur returns um if he doesn’t return you need to have a plan in place for without cotor um and you can’t roll Luke cunan as your 2C again um but what I would do is I would start Will Smith on the wing and let him getting used to the NHL game right while we project Will Smith to be a long term I would start him on the wing right now kind of give him the toas hurdle uh treatment let him play wing for a couple of Seasons while he fills out and then eventually move him to back to Center um and you know especially as he works out his defensive game with mmel lebrini I think his two-way game is strong enough where I would start him at Center his natural position but I would start him on the second line right let granin take those first line minutes until celebrini is comfortable enough to kind of overtake him so um but what I’m doing on each line is I’m making sure that these guys are paired with a defensive a strong defensive um player right um whether it’s Mel granin you hope Logan Cur is healthy um I’m not sacrificing offense for defense but I’m putting these guys um I’m splitting make not putting them on the same line first thing right is as much fun as that would be to start the season you you can’t throw out a 18yearold and a 19-year-old kid on the same line and say have at it guys go figure this thing out that that’s that’s not fair to them and it’s not like you’re putting them in a really terrible spot to to POs to succeed so and then you you try to give them both positive situations and I again this this team is going to be in a a struggle this year right we we expect to see growth but I don’t see a lot of wins coming even with the addition of Will Smith and mcin CBR and whatever mik G decides to do in free agency I don’t see this team winning a ton of games right be more competitive yes be more exciting hell yes win more games probably not so try try to take advantage of any positive situations you can give these guys situations where they can build and grow confidence that’s a ton of penalty that’s a ton of offensive zone starts um a ton of power play opportunities right these guys should both be Staples on the top power play unit again even if it comes for the sacrifice of the lond line which was very good last year these guys are your future right and as much as I love Mel granin Mel granin is not going to be here in two years and Fabian Zin I think is you know going to be a great player is is well on his way to be a good player but he’s more like a middle six guy right and like there there’s reasons why you drafted celra you’re going to draft celebrini and you drafted Will Smith is to have them eventually take over so putting them in situations where they can succeed early I think will help build confidence for them so um I that’s what I’m doing stapling them to a veteran loog If Logan gor is healthy right I’m putting I’m putting one of those guys with with him whether it’s Smith or celebrini whoever stapely one of those guys to him because we we we saw two years ago Couture was really great two years ago uh with a guy like bar bov and you tell me like Will Smith can’t be an even better version of bar don’t they have a lot of the same skills sets except for Will Smith is just way better at it or projects to be way better at it um and again if you don’t if if Couture isn’t going to be healthy you have to have a real Center um available so that’s one way to potentially look at it is doing that or again just put competent players around them right um luk hen you know bless him playing 2C last year um you you you can’t do that to these guys again kind of stapling ekan to to cunning like we saw last year um this roster should be much improved I want to see these guys put with other guys who will help make them better so um put them both in positions to succeed and manage you know manage the games here a little bit like if it’s it’s okay for a guy to sit a game I think that’s something we need to think just remember as well too like 18 19 year old kids playing in NHL there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs um it’s it’s not fair to at like the consistent play night in and night out so if Will Smith needs to sit a game and kind of think about things and kind of you know catch his breath or even almost kind of like managing his minutes right um we see in the NBA if those kind of scheduled like Hey we’re GNA sit him here um I know the Ducks were kind of looking at doing this with with the Carlson last year but anything like that where you’re again you’re trying to get this guy through a full 82 Game season um and put him in the best position to succeed yes maybe going back to Boston College and coming back at his sophomore year you may not have to do this as much but again I’m still willing to bet that a year from now Will Smith would is going to be a better player for playing a full season than NHL so manage the expectations night in night out uh put these guys in the best position to succeed by putting them around putting them in surrounding talent that can match slash kind of help accentuate their skill sets and then to it’s a it’s a Marathon not a Sprint here so uh we’ll look at some projected lines kind of look at where my career needs to attack especially if he’s going to have Smith and celebrini on this roster because again I’m not going to be messing around with these guys like I want to put these guys in a position to succeed um and if that means you have to be a little bit more aggressive in free agency fine right I want to put these guys in the best position to succeed that way they can be as good as possible as soon as possible so so uh we’ll dig into that here in just one second all right um let’s look at some lines so here’s what I did on cap friendly a while ago um my kind of lines right now Will Smith Mel granin babian zerin I feel like yes we you have you break up the Lun line but I think Mel grin’s defensive skills I think Fabian zland that like Dogg in him I think those like if if you were trying to almost recreate or at least kind of recreate what you saw at Boston College that made Will Smith successful I think these players can help do that right Mel granin is very much more of a of passer but his defensive skills which I myself underrate but you know maybe he’s not the greatest defenseman but uh greatest defensive Center but I think it’s underrated and again I underrated myself uh compared to you know what I’ve thought and actually watching and seeing Mel grenland in his usage throughout the the season and zelin who’s got that dog in him uh and as a potential 25 to 30 goal score I think playing putting Will Smith on the top line with these guys yeah is is going to put him in the best position to succeed so uh second line I have Eckland celini and clim C um Eckland again we we’ve seen the playmaking there I think him and cini’s playmaking together is just going to be magic um I think that a potential long-term combo so I want to put those guys together as soon as possible and clim cost I know want to see if last year was a flash in the pan kind of Jacob Peterson style or what but uh with what we saw from from him last year that’s where I’m going to kind of place him right now but we’ll talk about that kind of zelin Coston here in a little bit the third line of bordo cotor Philips Z Dena and again this is presuming Kotor is healthy enough to go um I liked what I saw from border last year we talked about borlo kind of last week a little bit but I really liked what I saw from Boro um Philips Zena I think playing kind of that third line minutes there and you’re hoping cure can just be like a really really awesome 3C like a uh type of of situation if you want to play Couture on the second line and maybe it’s Couture Macklin eckan and then you kick Coston down you could potentially do that but then you’re still kind of struggling with that 3C position uh maybe it’s Nik St on the 3C and Luke C in on the on the four C that’s a potential there um so Giovanni Smith Niko sterm Luke cunan as my fourth line um and then defense just for it uh feraro Benning pairing thrun emberson pairing and Muk madula and vasic pairing with burrow and Yan Ruda as the extras um I did in this scenario I did not resign kayin Addison because the more I think about it uh the more I’d rather just instead of having kayin Addison back I’d rather just have Shakir Muk Mulan up here because he’s part of the long-term future um plus yeah we’ll see with that I I still think I think the sharks are going to be active to try to find somebody there and that’s a discussion for another day Mackenzie Blackwood and VC vanich of course as your goalies so the place I’m looking though is trying to find somebody who can play I actually I want to take somebody who can kind of take the zerin spot right playing rightwing on the first line and then bump everybody down right uh so if you have free agent X as your right wing or clim C or zelin as your second line clim cson as your third line and then zadina as your fourth line like I feel much better about that than than here and again if your mik career it’s okay to spend a little bit of money now because one you have it um and two you want to put these guys in a position to succeed so I’m looking um I’m going to be if I M gr I’m going to be aggressive in that department um whether it’s through a trade whether it’s through free agency whatever it is I think that is where you need to attack you feel good about the left side U whether it’s maybe it’s a little bit small between Smith eckan and bordalo um but I think you can make up for it with your on the right side there and clim cson big dude right I know zelin not the biggest dude but he plays big um finding a a physical big um right winger who can help balance things out again I know Todd puszi is uh I know puszi is not not the the most popular name but I that’s the type of guy a guy who can who plays that style again maybe for he’s not the biggest guy but he plays big and the his role that’s the type of guy where I think you’re you’re get a guy like that who can kind of help cover up for some of these smaller uh Wingers you have on on the left side so H and celebrating right six foot play but he plays much bigger than he actually is watching watching his tape um so that’s what I would do I would that’s my projected lines I’m sure whoever the coach is going to be it sounds like we’re down to three potential candidates here um in in Ryan wowski Nico Sturm and Jeff blasi those are kind of the three Elliot Freedman spoke mention on on his 32 thoughts but plenty of time and opportunity to discuss what the Sharks will do there um but I I think putting these guys in a position and once cele bini kind of gets as good to go and feels comfortable you can bump him up to the first line uh at any point right it’s not like cool go play Mel granin in this in this spot he is holding down the fort until celebrini is ready to go and if you trade granin at the trade deadline awesome or if you just don’t resign him whatever like you you found your one SE of the future in celebrini and now is you’re just trying to get him ready for that role um as soon as possible and Will Smith is if he’s your TC you’re looking really like Will Smith and CBR is down the middle um and then with edstrom and bead or whoever kind of you know kind of takes that third C but like this this the Sharks team is going to be really good at some point uh if these guys do what I think they’re going to do so um but yeah that’s that’s gonna be today’s episode we’ll be back tomorrow with the Beck Sena uh draft profile I promise um unless something CRA else crazy happens um it’d be funny if we just never ever get to it it’s just never something just continually happens where it never comes out but uh no that that’s tomorrow’s episode and then Thursday we’ll go through the 2021 draft class uh and look at those guys plus we’ll look at kind at the goalies from the Barracuda and kind of review their Seasons so make sure you guys are follow along wherever you get Podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well uh follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at lockon sharks you can follow me on Twitter at my fry hole till tomorrow bye friends [Music]

Will Smith is expected to sign his Entry Level Contract and start his National Hockey League career with the San Jose Sharks this summer. Discuss why it makes sense for Will Smith to start playing NHL games this season compared to playing another year with Boston College and why Smith will be a better player a year from now for it. Then, how do the Sharks navigate having two players 19 and younger on the team? Examine why Mike Grier needs to be aggressive in adding pieces to the roster who can help the development of Celebrini and Smith. Finally, what does the Sharks lineup look like with Smith and Celebrini on the roster?

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