Speedrunning The San Jose Sharks Offseason With Summoning Salt | Optimism For 2025-26?

Speedrunning The San Jose Sharks Offseason With Summoning Salt | Optimism For 2025-26?

We speedrun the off seasonason with summoning salt on today’s Locked on Sharks. You’re Locked on Sharks, your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Hello, welcome to Locked On Sharks, the premier hockey podcast covering your favorite team in the Bay Area. My name is JD Young, caretaker at the reef, also the co-host of Locked on NHL. I want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen. Proudly part of the Locked on Network. We cover your team every day. And if you want to be an everyday, all you have to do is just follow along wherever you get podcast. Of course, you can watch on YouTube as well. And today we are joined by the YouTuber, the great YouTuber and also big time Sharks fan Summoning Salt, where we kind of speedrun through the off seasonason. We talk about the draft, talk about which uh free agency moves we like and we disliked. Uh spoiler Ryan Reeves. Uh and then we talk about the 2526 season and if there’s kind of setting a little bit of expectations for it. So um before we get to 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 lockn for $20 off your first purchase. And now we bring in the one and only summoning salt. uh noted Sharks fan, also does some YouTube thing on the side. I don’t know. Uh but somebody’s old, buddy. How’s it going? What’s up, JD? Thanks for having me, man. Uh it’s nice to be back. I can’t wait. Yes. Uh I know you were on way back in the cool Eric Carlson like 100 point season and then uh I don’t know, we just went 100% in the tank and now that the Sharks are maybe starting to turn things around a little bit, I thought it’d be a fun time. And it’s also uh the middle of the offseason, so why not have uh a celebrity amongst the internet community on to talk about Sharks. So, we’re going to kind of just run through the Sharks uh off season, get kind of go back and forth on what we thought of it. And of course, I think we have to start with the the draft. So, uh let me start. Uh were you one of the like, oh god, he’s going to screw this up and not pick Michael Misa? How are you feeling going into the draft? I mean, I feel like I was pretty much in the same boat with most people where I was pretty sure it was going to be Misa up until the day before the draft and then it was like, is this not happening? Are we are we not getting Misa? Is it? And then like draft morning it was like, okay, I think it’s going to be Misa. So, I mean, I was certainly hoping for Misa like the whole time. That was the obvious pick to me if Schaefer wasn’t there and just have a completely stacked forward group. And uh yeah, I’m pretty happy it happened. Were you worried that it wasn’t going to be Misa 2 or where where were you at? I was the day before I kind of had a weird feeling it might not be Misa, it might be Fontell, but I was very much like on the the Misa train and then yeah kind and like talking to every you know because I was down LA I was talking to a lot of people and stuff and like everybody I was talking to were like I don’t know man I don’t know what my career is doing here and uh I mean the nice thing from from a content creator perspective is it gave you a lot of content to talk about because it wasn’t like a slam dunk like oh it’s going to be Michael Misa which was nice But, uh, it was it did feel like a whole song and dance just to get to the inevitable where we’re just picking Michael Misa because he’s the best player on the board and arguably could be the best player in this draft. Uh, you know, like I love Matthew Schaefer, but there’s a legitimate argument that Misa could be a better player. So, uh, yeah, I was, uh, you know, very much relieved as we kind of got closer to the actual draft. I felt like it was Misa, but uh 100% was uh definitely kind of sweating it a little bit. Uh do have to shout out the Chicago fans kind of doing the like fake uh Sharks uh accounts like Del thing. Uh absolutely hilarious. Like 100% hilarious. Uh glad to see that it kind of worked out the way it did though. Um as I mean, you know, we talked a lot like kind of going into it, you know, the Sharks need more right-handed defenseman. Uh, were you a little surprised like I was when you heard Joshua Ravensburg and called at number 30 there, especially with some of the the names on the board? Yeah, I mean that was like the last thing I was expecting. Um, I mean, so at the time I remember like I was texting a friend and I was like, what are we doing? Why would we do this? Are we just going to be pissing off Ascarov? Like what? Why? We’re just taking another goalie in the first round. And then like as the night went on and then the next day I thought about it a bit more and then you know everyone online was like this is such a good pick because he’s you know there’s not Ascarov’s not a sure deal and then even if he is there nothing wrong with having two good goalies because you can just trade one. So was I surprised? Yeah. I mean absolutely. Um but like I get it and there’s there’s nothing wrong with having two good goalies in your system because you’ll see one of them might not work out. Goalies are voodoo. There’s no there’s no guarantees with goalenders. And uh yeah, I mean we just flip one of them if we have to. So it like it does make sense because he was probably his value was a lot higher than where we drafted him. And I can tell from like these last two or three drafts, Greer is a big fan of just best player available no matter what. Like don’t even think about what position they play. Just best player available, take him. So like in hindsight it’s like yeah that maybe was a bit of a more obvious pick than we were all thinking at the time but yeah in the moment it was like not at all what anyone was expecting I don’t think. Yeah I was say I was also shocked especially seeing like on the board Fiddler who I thought was like an extremely Mike Greer type of player but as you said right he’s going to play pick who the best player and that is how you should draft right you you should pick who you think is going to be the best player regardless. So, of you know, floor, ceiling, etc. Um, and Mike Greer, he swung for the fences with all these picks and Joshua Ravensburgen, uh, like you said, right? You, it’s not the worst thing in the world to have two good goalies in your uh, in your pipeline because yeah, Ascarov, you know, I think the world of Ascarov, I think as been very good, but I mean, we see this season is going to eventually turn to 84 games and player like just goalies nowadays just don’t play as many games as it used to. You’re going to need someone who can at least start 30 to 35 games most likely and then you get to the playoffs, right? And you you you need to have two guys who you feel really comfortable about it. And yes, I know Ravensburg is a guy who we’re probably not going to see for a long long time, but still like or like you said, a trade piece and you saw what Nashville got for Ascro, right? first uh round pick and then a first round draft pick uh plus some other stuff like or or first round prospect, sorry, excuse me. Like you can get a really nice bit of stuff for Ravensburg and or if you trade him for a NHL player when the Sharks kind of get to that that point. So, um what other picks? I mean, I know the Wong one was was a little bit surprising too, but uh kind of doing my deep dive like I’m all on board watching on him. I think the kid’s going to be really good. It’s going to take a while, but I think the kid’s going to be really good. Yeah. Well, I want to say one more thing about uh the goalie situation. Um the odds that both of these guys are going to turn into like good starters, like it would it sounds great. Hopefully it happens. The odds that both of them are actually like number one starters though, it’s probably not as likely as Sharks fans are going to think. Yeah. And even if it does happen, um, think about the Montreal Canadians like I don’t know 15, 20 years ago. You have Kerry Price and Yaro Hak. Both young goalenders, both really good. They both were actually developing super well. Well, that situation worked out okay because they just traded Hak and then they had Price and their goalending was fine. Um, so yeah, I’m not too worried about it. Going on to Hoshi Wang. Um, another one I was very surprised by just because I was not really familiar with his name because there are a lot of other names that I’ve been hearing like on your podcast on other podcasts from people who seem like they’re more likely to be drafted. But but I mean I get it like it’s I don’t know if I would have picked him but obviously there’s a lot of intrigue there like the size, the raw talent. You can’t teach size, dude. That skating is Yeah. I’ve never heard people say the word raw in a hockey context more than about this Hosshi Wang pick. It’s like every single person is describing him the same way. He even describes himself the same way. It’s pretty funny. I’ve seen him say that in a few interviews. Um but yeah, I mean I don’t hate it. Like it’s a it’s an interesting move. It could pay off. Um I I don’t know. Like I I’m more curious your thoughts on it because I feel like you probably knew at least something about him going into the draft whereas I like had never even heard his name before. So yeah, I mean I I think for like you know kind of especially I was a little bit surprised again, you know, with what was kind of left on the board there and I thought maybe the Sharks might go for a little bit more kind of sure thing, right? Especially with a guy like Fiddler who was there and I thought that would like I said I thought that was a very Mike Greer type of of player. But uh with Hoshi Wong like it does remind me a lot of Shakir Mukum Doulan where like this is a player who’s going to need time to develop, right? He just needs more reps and playing against tougher competition, right? A guy who hasn’t really faced a lot of tough competition, but even watching him in his limited time in the OHL, right? He played half a season and the steps he made from the beginning to the steps he made, like you saw a huge development there and he’s going to spend the next season in the OL and then going to go play in college with um at Boston. Like I think this is a really great path for him to as he kind of continually is going to be ramping up his competition, right? he’s not going to kind of get stale where he gets stuck in the OHL or he’s going to, you know, like we saw with Dickinson and we saw with Musty. Uh but yeah, I really I I think it it’s going to take time. Like don’t don’t expect Wong to be in the lineup here the next like two or three years, but I have a feeling this pick is going to pay dividends because of what his size and his ability to move along the back end. I think it’s going to free up players like a Luca Kenyon or if you have a more offensive uh kind of leaning uh defenseman. Wong is so good at kind of covering and and helping out these these guys because again his ability to to just get from point A to point B so quickly and so officially. Uh and I think it’s it’s going to kind of be an eraser, right? uh of you kind of go back to right the with Brent Burns kind of reminds me the same thing just Brent Burns can he’s just he’s so big and he’s so fast he can move so well like yes he maybe not the greatest technician and we saw the starfish and stuff like that but like again you just you can’t find guys like that all the time who are just such great athletes and I think Wong is such a great athlete um that once he gets the reps under him like you’re going to see why why the Sharks drafted him So, uh, yeah, I I think again, long-term picture, like long-term picture. Uh, Wong could be a guy kind of entering the frey as the Sharks are starting to kind of hit that hopefully starting to contend a little bit more contention window, we’ll say. Uh, but yeah, I I I think it’s going to be a pick that works out really well for them. I hope he gets good at Starfish. I want to see that. You’re making the Brent Birds comparison like Wong Starfish would be great. Sick, man. I love it. Yes. All right, before we get to Free Agency with Sony Salt, uh we talk about some of the moves that we liked, some of the ones that we didn’t like. Uh just need to take a quick break. We’ve all been there, logging on early and waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale, only to lose your spot for a show that you’ve been dying to see. Live music should be about making memories, not dealing with the stress of ticket shopping. That’s where Game Time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster and easier than ever. Prices actually drop as it gets closer to Showtime. You can save up to 60% off with killer last minute deals. Uh my wife uh of course grew up a huge Backstreet Boys fan. Uh getting to go see them in Vegas. Got to use Game Time uh to get tickets her and her girlfriend looking uh for the perfect seats of course right with the sphere. You want to see as much as you can with the screen. Uh great with the game time with the panoramic view. You you know exactly what your seats are going to look like. So, take the guesswork for Got to Buy in concert and show 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 O C K E D O NHL for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. We uh let’s move on to free agency, which you know going into free agency, we knew the Sharks had a bajillion dollars to spend. Uh I think especially after the first day of free agency, the Sharks fans maybe a little bit like what are we doing here? But uh which I think is fair to say, but I think Mike Greer like overall now we’re kind of a couple weeks from it had a solid maybe not super sexy, but I think he had a solid free agency. What do you think so far? So, my thoughts on it, uh, there was an article that, uh, Shangpang wrote that really like resonated with how I was feeling, so I’m kind of repeating his words here, but the individual moves, other than the one obvious Ryan Reeves one that everyone’s scratching their heads about. Every other individual move, I liked it. Like I thought there were a lot of good signings, but when you look at it as a whole, I’m like, okay, this team is definitely better than they were at the end of last year because that was a train wreck. Are they better than they were though when they had Walman and CC on defense and Granland and Zetterland in the offense and Mackenzie Blackward Blackwood in net? I mean, maybe slightly just because Celabbrini, Smith, Ekkan, all the young guys are probably gonna be taking a step up, but like look, we added on offense here, um, Skinner, Kurishv, Goddette, uh, Ryan Reeves, thank God. On defense, Orlav, Clingberg, Ley, and then, uh, Nadulkovich in Net. Like, are those guys going to make up for the difference of not having Gran Loan, Cece, all the guys I just mentioned? Like, I don’t know. I think it’s going to be close and you’re just hoping that the young guys take a step forward, but um yeah, I think they will probably be like better than last year, but I don’t know. The signings as a whole, I guess I was hoping for a little bit of a bigger splash splash and uh instead it’s like yeah, Skinner’s good, Kersev’s good, um Godette is good. Um I don’t know which of those did you think was the the best move? I I like the Orlav move a lot. I know there was some, you know, he might be losing a little bit of a step here, right? But I I think he’s better than like I do think he’s better than kind of anything actually the Sharks had on the back end last year, including Jake Walman. Uh and Cody Cece like uh like Cody if Cody Cece is your sixth defenseman, that’s fine. Uh remember, he’s like the Sharks first pairing defenseman and it was a bit of a a mess last year. um like he’s the one I really like and I really do think that that like he’s going to kind of just bring a professionalism to to the back end with this with the blue line there. Um, Clingberg is definitely the wild card of this of the especially looking at the blue line where if he gets anywhere close to how he was in his Dallas days, which is like a thousand years ago, uh, that feels like a signing that could work out really well. But we’ve seen he’s been injuryprone the last couple years and hasn’t really kind of been that guy. And of course with him, it’s very much all gas, no breaks. Uh, and I know that’s going to probably bother a lot of people with his style of play, but uh, defense is for nerds. go score goals, which this team definitely needs to score more goals. So, among the forwards, I actually like the Skinner one a lot because I think it’s a cheap signing. I think he’s going to come in, I think he’s going to score 20 to 25 goals. Uh, and again, the Sharks just need more players who can score goals like him. And we’ve seen him on bad teams, play a bunch of, you know, the Sabres teams play a bunch of minutes and score a bunch of goals not that long ago. And I think he’s going to be in a similar situation. I think a lot of people um don’t, you know, like look at like, well, he didn’t do much last year with Edmonton. It was like, yeah, he’s playing like third or fourth line minutes and on a very good team and kind of wasn’t maybe used to that type of role. I think he’s going to get back to his more natural role of playing top six minutes. I think he’ll be able to kind of produce. So, I I think the Skinner one and the Orlav ones are the the two of my favorite moves for the for my career this year. And again, Orlav signed in two years and Skinner signed a one year at three million. And like if they don’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. Yeah. I mean, so with Skinner, I would agree of the offensive signings. That was probably my favorite one. Um, the thing is yeartoear, you don’t know what Jeff Skinner you’re going to get. I mean, that is very true. This guy like scored 40 goals and then two years later had like 14 points or something. I mean, and then he rebounded and he did better. And then the last couple years he’s kind of been his role has been diminished and once again his point total, his production is sliding again. So, are we getting the true decline of Jeff Skinner? It’s just going to keep going down or are we going to get another rebound? I mean, I I don’t know. I think you could make arguments both ways. Like, he is getting older, but also he’s going to be getting way more minutes on this team and he might be playing with some good players. I mean, he might be like playing with Cabbrini, Smith, Ecklund, like it. We’ll see where they end up putting them. I don’t know. Um, and then yeah, the OralB signing, I agree, that’s definitely the most interesting one, uh, on the back end. Um, we’re probably going to be playing him a little too much. I mean, he’s going to be like 22. He’s the Sharks number one defenseman, right? Yeah, he’s easily the Sharks number one defenseman. And I do think the Ley like one, too. I mean, I know like getting him for free. I know he was like injured last year and he didn’t look great last year, but if he’s back to being healthy, like I think that’s another solid again just a professional defenseman. Uh like he’s better than Yan Ruda. He’s better than Roastic. He’s better than Henry Thra. And I I I do think again it’s not like some incremental jumps here, but I do think the guys they have is just they’re kind of better than what they had last year, right? Would you rather have Nick Ley or would you rather have Cody Cece? Because I’m taking Nick Ley, right? Would you rather have Or, you know, but like I I don’t know. I I think I think Nick Lety like I’m I’m willing to pass off last year because of the injury and I I think he might maybe got rushed back a little from there. So I want to see what he’s like fully healthy. Uh but and then Muka Madul and hopefully taking the next step and if Sam Dickinson’s in the mix and we think as Sam Dickson is as good as we think Sam Dickson is going to be like and maybe Ferraru and Lilrin one of those guys get shipped out as well like there if you squint you can see maybe there’s some improvements on the blue line and I think that will I think having some improvements on the blue line and some consistency in net uh which we’ll talk more about here in the 2526 section uh like I think we’ll we’ll you’ll see some improvements there. But what move I assume we both have to say well which one were you just like what are we doing it bro? Uh I mean it’s got to be Ryan Reeves because here here’s really my problem with the Ryan Reeves move. Like I I get that it’s something that we don’t have and I don’t think it’s really going to be a huge deal either way. Yeah. My problem is that this is kind of a problem we sort of had last year too is that we have like eight or nine the same exact Yes. players. And it’s like I kind of like to see Colin Graph and Ethan Cardwell get some playing time. I’ll be honest. Like I think they’ve they’ve developed pretty well. And instead it’s like in addition to those guys we have and I’m not saying all these guys shouldn’t be in the bottom six but like we also have Wenberg Godette Goodro Dandria Grundstrom Reeves all like going to be fighting for a job. And I guess it’s not the worst thing that I’m fighting for a job. I just I worry that we like hey we have the Landria signed he’s gonna play like and we have Goodro signed he’s gonna play. I’m worried that they’re going to be blocking jobs from these younger guys who I’d really like to see get some chances to play on this team. So, I get the Reeves signing to an extent or the Greavves trade to an extent, but it’s just it’s like I don’t know why, I guess. Yeah, that’s what I’m left with. Yeah. And it’s again like you hear from Toronto like the majority of Toronto fans were like, “Thanks, dude. like you did us a solid here basically getting him off of our roster because he just doesn’t provide he doesn’t provide what I think a lot of people think he provides. Uh and I think he’s like you said he’s he’s uh most likely keeping a a guy from like Graph or or Cardwell or whomever. I do think Graph’s I feel like Graph’s unless he has a horrible camp. I feel like he’s a lock to make the team. But still um like there’s I just think he’s too good. I think I think uh the coaching staff really likes him, especially his versatility and the way he plays PK. Uh I do think like he I he might be one of their best PKers already and he’s played like one full season. So uh but anyway, like with Reeves though, like yeah, it’s he plays eight minutes a night. He, you know, glares at people on the bench and uh you know, whatever. Most likely he’s probably going to be waved at some point playing in the AHL. So, if he’s your Scott Sabin like in the AHL, cool, man. Like, that’s fine. Uh where I think it’s a little bit more rough and tumble down there. But yeah, the Reeves one, uh I got a lot of uh you’re an idiot, you’ve never played the game, uh etc., etc. when I dislike the Reeves one. But, uh you know, whatever, man. Uh just remember how everyone felt about Barkley Goodro coming back and they’re like, “Man, this is great. Barkley Goodro,” and then we saw Barkley Goodro play hockey. We’re like, “Oh my god, what has happened here?” It’s going to be the same thing. I almost wish we could just have Reeves in the locker room and then just not really play at all because I feel like he’s probably a great locker room guy, but like do we really want him to scratch? Yeah. Yeah. Do we really want to play more than like five games this year? Like probably not. So yeah, I I I hope exactly like you said, I hope he we send him to the AHL and he is great down there because the AHL team actually had some big losses this year. So if he could help them that’d be great. Um I don’t know how much he’s gonna be scoring, but you know he’s they’re the intangibles, right? That’s that’s why you get Ryan Reeves. So the intangibles and uh to yeah keep protect the children apparently. So all right, before we continue with somebody, we talk about the 2526 season and why there might be some reasons for hope at least when it comes to the wins and losses column. Uh just need to take a quick break. Uh I mean we kind of started touching on it but 2526 uh I know like futures teal etc etc. you kind of, you know, mentioned like how much better is this team going to be? And uh we were talking a little bit beforehand and I know you’re a little like I don’t know if it’s going to be much better and again I I I think I’m in the like I think there’s going to be a jump uh again maybe like this team is not a playoff team etc etc. I don’t think they’re going to be a driving seat of the McKenna sweep stakes either. But how are you feeling as we’re you know uh I guess a month out from training camp? I think that they are probably in a similar position to where they were the first like half of last year. Uh, and definitely better than the second half. But yes, I So here’s the thing. Like I made my like point projections for how I think they’re going to do. But this is this is like assuming they don’t trade anyone at the trade deadline. It’s like that’s probably not going to happen. Like there’s all these guys on one year. There’s always Mike Greer loves himself a trade. So yeah. So I and I have 65 points which would be a decent step up but that’s is that actually likely to happen with if they’re going to be trading guys like probably not. So I don’t know like if they can reach even like 60 points that is a step up from last year but is it really like a step up in the standings? Like okay maybe they’ll be second to last. I guess that’s an improvement. But really where I’m at with this team is just we want the young guys to take a step forward and I’m sure they, you know, most of them will. I am just skeptical that the other than that is really going to be better than what we had last year. And I think the team’s kind of gonna like if they end up going past that and they like 70 75 points or more, it’s going to be because like Ascarov’s a beast or Celibbrini is like beyond a point per game player or something like crazy like that. Otherwise, like I don’t I mean maybe Skinner could go off and get 35 goals, but I doubt it. You know, I maybe Kurichev can go back to how he was two years ago, but you know, the odds of more than like one of those things happening is very unlikely. So, uh, I I see like a small step up from last year, but not much at all, unfortunately. So, it’s funny you you mentioned the kind of like that beginning of the season. If you take out take out the time celebrating like the beginning of the season was celebrating, you got hurt, right? That first kind of 101 game. So, if you start from November 1st through the Blackwood trade, which is uh December 9th. So, it’s about, you know, five or six weeks. Small sample size in the hockey se world, right? But still during that time your San Jose Sharks 18 games they went 78 and three. So they had 17 points in that time and they were averaging 0.94 points per game. So that was like if they’re anywhere close to that range you’re looking at like a 65 70 point season. And again like Blackwood was absolutely outstanding. I don’t think Ascrov is going to be that. But but compare him to Gorgv. But if you compare him to Gorg after that just completely different uh there. And I I think if if Ascrov is just like league average is going to be huge for the Sharks. Like just being league average compared to Gorgiev where again you you feel like you have to score five goals a game uh to win the game. I think will be a a big uh boost. And like I know he’s going to have some ups and downs uh Ascar, but you the expectation is right by the end of the season he’s hopefully going to be better than at the beginning of the season. Yeah. And you know Nadulkovich if he’s a wash for VTEC Vanichek. Okay. Like if that’s I I think that’s a you know like if you look at their advanced stats they both played on bad teams last year. Like Nadulkovich put up pretty solid advanced stats on a bad Penguins team that also had no defense. And you know, yes, you are banking a lot on on growth between Celibbrini and Smith and these guys, but like uh I mean Smith was awesome at the end of the season. I know he’s probably going to be playing center now, so there might be some learning curve there, but um you know, and I think Skinner, you know, can Skinner do anywhere close to what Zetterland did last year? Is that a fair, you know, maybe? Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like in a way they’re kind of similar types of players. Um, you I wanted to talk about Will Smith actually. I wanted to see what you thought about him because I am torn because on the one hand there’s part of me that seems like he would be a candidate to have like a sophomore slump because he was definitely up and down a bit last year. Uh, a lot better at the end of course. Uh, and then he’s probably we’re going to try having him play center and I’m sure we’ll move him off of it if it doesn’t work. But I do feel like that could be tough for him and it might shatter his confidence a little bit. So to me it seems like he could be the type to have a sophomore slump. And then on the other hand, you look at the second half of his season, he was like almost point per game. So he might get which Will Smith do we get is the big question, right? Yes. Exactly. Yeah. What do you think about that? I lean more toward because if you watch Will like Will Smith everywhere he’s gone, right? Uh it’s taken him a little bit of time. You know, if you go back to Boston College, uh even though he’s playing with the same, you know, when Perau and Leonard, like it took him a little bit of time to adjust, right? And we know the Sharks, especially, you know, like we’re going to keep the training wheels on. We have the development days. And a lot of fans were like, “This is dumb. What are you doing? He’s a professional athlete, etc., etc.” Uh, well, it turns out maybe my career, the coaching staff, kind of knew what they were doing because like you said, right, uh, he had 30 points in in 34 games to end the season. And I think we will get something closer to I don’t think he’s a point per game player, but I think we get something closer to that because I think of the confidence level and I think the Sharks actually have six potentially six real top six forwards now uh between right Eklan Cbrini to Foley uh Smith uh Skinner and I feel like I’m missing somebody but uh I’m totally missing but like I said, Eklyn, uh, Tofoley, Celibbrini, uh, Misa, maybe Misa’s in there. Uh, I think Kersh or I think could play a top six and not it’s not going to be the end of the world for him. Um, but what like I think they have just more players and I know they don’t have Mikuel Granland and I think you would like you would easily take Mikuel Grinland over those guys or even if they play Wenberg there like if Wenberg’s your 2C and you put Smith on the wing. I just I think they have and I I think the other thing that’s big is just I think the third line’s gonna be a lot better this year uh with guys like Gaette and with Kersev and Colin Graph uh compared to what the Sharks rolled out last year at the third line, right? Wenberg struggled a lot at the beginning of the season because he had no wingers. And then if Shernov or Lond both get promoted at some point in the middle of the season as we kind of expect these guys to like I think there’s just more real like legitimate options for them to get actual scoring in the which is uh the team just sucks at scoring and they need to score more goals. So uh but yeah, I again I I think that like 65 point mark is probably where I’m circling. But again, this is a team that scored 50 points last year. And then you also look at how this team performed in a lot of close games, right? How many games were they winning by a goal with like 10 minutes left? They end up losing that. If they cut th that in half, that’s like another massive jump there as well. And I I think there’s just going to be some regression to the mean when it comes to that. So again, it’s a slow process, but I think there is there is uh a lot of things that you can point to to actually help. So even, yes, not having Mackenzie Blackwood uh kind of stand on his head for, you know, the first chunk of the season, I think there’s just going to be more consistent, we’ll say. Hopefully more consistent goalending that compared to what we saw at the end of the season. So little bit of hope, buddy. Little bit of hope. Has to be. All right. Um, we’ll get what again. We’re way far out. Give me your celebrity prediction. How many points does he have this season? Uh, I actually wrote that down here. Oh, what do you got? What do you got? I have him 7,000 points. I have him just under a point per game and I’m saying 81 points in 82 games. I’ll take that. I think we would all happily take that. Trust in this guy right here. Okay. He is the future. And any rebuilding team honestly is lucky to get a number one overall pick. Think of Detroit and we got one. So, he’s he’s the guy, man. I’m I’m psyched. And I feel like we got a really special one. Uh like not just like any number one pick. I feel like we got a really special one. So we did not get male Yakobov. We got Maxov. So yeah, I will take Celebrity. All right. Uh Summoning Salt. Uh what are you working on? What do you got coming out soon for all the fans? Another video should be coming like early September. Another VHS tape because I know all the fans are excited about that. Coming probably like a month after that. So yeah, just getting into the grind. Awesome. Uh, I’m enjoying my time off before I get back into the grind as well. So, uh, where can the people, if you don’t know who Summoning Salt is, where can the people find you really quick. So, yeah. So, you can just find me, type in Summoning Salt to YouTube. I’m also on Twitter. I don’t post there that often, but main thing is YouTube. That’s where I post my speedrunning videos. So, all right, buddy. Appreciate you so much. We’ll hopefully check again soon. So, uh, thanks. Enjoy the rest of your summer. And, uh, yeah. again. Uh, Ascarov way better than Gorg. That’s what we’re banking on. Just a bit. Yeah. Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. All right, guys. I do want to of course thank Salt for uh jumping on uh talking about Sharks uh kind of going through the off season here and and stuff. Uh I do, like I said, I think there’s there’s going to be there’s plenty of signs to point to why I think uh Sharks will see some improvement this this upcoming year. Is it going to be a massive jump? Probably not. But 65 points compared to 50 15 point jump, I think that would be a nice nice jump for for San Jose. So, uh, but again, thanks to Summon Salt. Uh, go check out his uh videos on YouTube. Go subscribe to him. Uh, of course, puts out legendary literally legendary stuff. Uh, selling VHS tapes. How cool is that? So, uh, but we’ll be back later on this week. You’re getting four episodes from me this week. So, uh, make sure you’re following along wherever you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well. Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Lockdown Sharks. Follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole. Uh, until later. Bye, friends.

The San Jose Sharks’ offseason moves have set the stage for an intriguing 2025-26 NHL season. Will their draft picks and free agency signings pay off?

JD Young and guest @SummoningSalt break down the Sharks’ 2025 NHL Draft selections, including the highly-anticipated Michael Misa pick and the surprising choice of Joshua Ravensbergen. They analyze free agency additions like Dmitry Orlov and Jeff Skinner, weighing their potential impact against departed players. The controversial Ryan Reaves trade sparks debate about roster management and ice time for young talent.

Looking ahead, the duo explores the Sharks’ outlook for 2025-26. Can improved goaltending and prospect development boost the team’s performance? They examine Will Smith’s potential, debating whether he’ll build on his strong finish or face a sophomore slump. Plus, get insights on Macklin Celebrini’s projected point production and how he might shape the Sharks’ future.

Tune in for expert analysis on the San Jose Sharks’ rebuild strategy and predictions for key players in the upcoming season.

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