San Jose Sharks’ Yaroslav Askarov IGNITES Team’s Fortunes in November | Collin Graf’s Next Contract?

With November in the books, who has seen their stock rise and who has seen it fall for the 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 Ons your first listen, proudly part of the Lockaw Network, the number one sports podcast network out there, where we cover your team every day. And if you want to be in every day, all you have to do is just follow along wherever you get podcast. And of course, you can watch on YouTube as well. Today, we’re going to be looking at uh since November’s done, we’re going to be kind of taking a nice stock up, stock down on some players. Uh looking at Yaros Vascro, who had a uh as Randy Han like to say, a November to remember. Uh and his stock is at an all-time high. Uh we’ll be discussing Tyler Tofoy who’s going through some struggles right now. And Colin Graph uh has earning a new contract here. So, uh, before we get to all that, do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Uh, right now with the NFL action going on, you want to be right in the middle of the season. Visit fanuel.com and place NFL live bets all season long. So, um, let’s start with with Yarov, who I think is one of, if not the biggest story, uh, for the San Jose Sharks coming out of the month of November, right? This was a great month for the Sharks and uh especially after what was I mean we can it was a it was a tough October uh which seems to be a a tradition now. Um, but the Sharks really found their game in the month of October and a big reason for that was this dude named Yarlav Asgrov uh for the Sharks and right there was another player tough October. calendar flips over to November and Ascrov is one of the best goalies in the NHL. Uh based, you know, just his style of play and what the Sharks were able to do uh with him in net, right? And uh the Sharks actually in the month of as crazy as this sounds in the month of November the Sharks had the most points in the Pac they had 19 points in the Pacific. That’s more than the the Ducks, the Kings more than everybody in the Pacific. Um, with only I mean the the Western teams were much better, but uh or this not the Western, sorry, the the central those those juggernaut teams over there, but um the Sharks had the most points in all of the Pacific in the month of November. And a lot of it uh again comes to one Yaroscarro doing crazy Yarlavas things. Um, Ascrov played 10 games. Uh, 1.88 goals against average, 944 save percentage, eight wins, two losses. Uh, he allowed 18 goals, and made 302 saves on 319 shots there. Uh, yes, that does include the game against Colorado, of course, where, you know, he gave up four goals and got pulled in that game. And that game was was definitely not his fault in the way the Sharks just showed up to play. For example, Nadulkovich who had a fine month. He had a 907 save percentage with a 269 goals against um during the same time. In six games, he allowed 15 goals in those six games. uh while playing uh uh 250 minutes less than basically 250 minutes less than Ascarov during that time and saw 161 shots on goal compared to Ascarov’s 319. Um Ascarov I I think it’s it’s fair to say has done everything to quell any questions about uh one if he’s the goalender of the future. two. Um, did the Sharks screw up on this trade? Like, it’s it’s very clear that the Sharks made the right decision with Ascrov and letting him spend another season in the AHL to develop and and sticking with him this year when things weren’t going well, right? It would have been very easy just to continue to ride. Nadvichu had a really good start to the season um barring the game against Vegas where he decided to lose his mind for five minutes. But um it would have been very easy just to kind of continue to ride Nadelkovic and just you even send Ascro back to the AHL and say go figure things out. We’ll see you in a couple weeks. But the Sharks, they they know if they’re going to go anywhere, maybe not this season, but just in general, um Ascrov is going to be the guy that leads them there at least from uh the back from the pipes, right? And uh I think that, you know, speaks to just Ascrov’s, you know, like maturity in his game, right? Where he talked, he mentioned it, right? I just need to take a deep breath, right? Take a deep breath. realize it’s not right. We’re not going to turn this thing around in one night. Um, you know, as much as there’s a lot of expectations on it, like there there’s reasons why there’s expectations and he is so far, I think, delivered up to those expectations. Um, Ascar currently sits sits um 14th in the NHL when it comes to goals saved above expected via money puck. um you know like you know he’s played 16 games uh so he’s basically saving about half a goal more than expected uh 656 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes um which again like that’s right around where uh that’s kind of sorry I’m looking at the wrong thing um but still like that that’s a well above what we saw from any Sharks player goalie over the last couple seasons with the exception of uh sorry 0.547 that’s what I was trying to look at I got my columns mixed up sorry 0.547 goal saved above expected over per 60 minutes so um that’s well above expected compared to what we have seen from any Sharks goalie not named McKenzie Blackwood over the past couple seasons like it’s pretty clear that without Ascarov this team would not be in the position that it’s in um and yes Celibbrini is awesome and Will Smith both have been great and um you know I spent the whole basically second segment of yesterday’s episode talking about how great they’ve been um but Ascrov is I I think is the the rock for this team right and celebrating Smith are going to do a bunch of cool stuff but Ascarov like this team is going to go as far as can can help carry this team and help kind of cover for its defensive deficiencies and we saw it in the Vegas game right um when the goalender isn’t at his tippy top. I’m going to make every ridiculous save as possible, you know, and Nadelovic played a solid game, but you think of the Mitch Martyr uh play, right, where he just overcompensates for that and it’s just a wide open goal. um and the defensive miscues in that game which there were a fair number of um if you don’t have Ascarov just covering up this mistakes those types of mistakes on a night innight out basis that he’s been doing especially this month. Um you I think you you you see more of those types of performances, right? where all of a sudden it’s four to one and again credit to the Sharks for for you know battling back and making that a game but you see more of those types of performances and anytime ASCR is in net I think the Sharks know they have a really good shot of winning a game and sometimes you’re going to run into Buzz Saws like Colorado but any given night Ascarov is in that you feel like you got a chance to win the game and I I think that speaks to just how far he has come in a short time, right? And um you know, had a great season with the Barracuda last year. You saw glimpses of it of him just being a differencemaker, especially in the playoffs last year when the Barracuda were missing their MVP. Um and they they basically were like, “We can score. We can give you two goals, Ascarov. That’s about it right now.” And Ascarov was like, “I got this, guys.” And he drugg them through the first series. uh and he almost stole another series against Colorado, which was a a very good uh or great team last year. So, um you’re seeing that now this year. If if you get if you get two to three goals in Ascar’s net, you feel like you’re going to have a chance to win because Ascrov has been that dialed in uh to start the season. So his stock right now is is through the roof. Uh especially kind of where we were at this time last month, right, where things were were not great with Ascrov and there was a lot of questions and he I think has put that to bed on just uh what he means to not only this team, this franchise and where he is going to help bring this this team going forward. So, uh, we’re going to talk about Tyler Tofoy next, who’s, uh, had a bit of a rough time here. Um, but, uh, you know what? I think things are going to turn around for him here rather quickly. So, uh, we’ll get to Tofo. We’ll talk about Colin Graph’s new cont potential new contract here as well. When I’m hydrated, everything just works better. My focus, energy, mood, even my skin. That’s why I’ve been using Drip Drop. It’s Dr. underdeveloped hydration that keeps me running at full power no matter what my day looks like. Drip Drop isn’t your average sports drink. It delivers three times the electrolytes and half the sugar of leading brands using a scienceback formula trusted by medical professionals, firefighters, and over 90% of top college and pro teams. Um, drip drop. It’s first of all, it tastes amazing. I really like the cherry and the fruit punch. Uh, I had a fruit punch today. Just wasn’t feeling myself early afternoon. had a fruit punch and really kicked in. Made me start just feeling better. Uh overall, hydration has become a non-negotiable for me. Drip Drop helps me feel sharper, calmer, and honestly, again, just better feeling overall. Right now, Drip Drop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to dripdrop.com and use code lockdown NHL. That’s dripdrop.com, promo code locked on NHL, for 20% off. Stock up now before the heat hits hard and keep your mind and body performing at their best with Drip Drop. All right, before we continue, do of course want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen. If you haven’t yet, perfect time to subscribe. Uh as we of course have reactions after Sharks games. Uh there might be a guest coming on uh for the Utah game. Uh we’ll just keep keep it that, you know, keep that closed right now. We also do have another interview with a church prospect uh ready to go that’ll be coming out later this week as well. So uh plenty of great stuff coming here at Locked on Sharks where we cover your team every day. All right. uh Tyler Tfully who has had a difficult start to say a diff not difficult start a difficult November right and he’s currently in the midst of a 12game scoreless streak has not scored since uh beginning of November uh November 5th I believe is the last time he actually scored a goal so it it has been a while for Mr. Toi, right? Tyler Tofoy, who you know I I’ve lovingly said a a walking 25 to 30 goal scorer. Um stuck on on five right now. And while Defoy, you know, um maybe we’re not seeing the goaling the goals go in, right? As in this last month, he had one goal, like I said, um he’s still doing a lot of other positive things, right? and he was third among Sharks during the month of November when it came to scoring. Uh it just wasn’t the goals, right? You had Celibbrin who had 20 points in 15 games. Uh you had Will Smith uh who had 14 points. Uh CBrini just eight goals, 12 assists. Smith, six goals, eight assists for 14 points. And then Tofoley one goal, seven assists for eight points during that time. Um, and I know like Ekkan missed, you know, four games in there, like missed some time in there, uh, because he’s a little bit further down and also was going through a little bit of a slump himself. But I do think to fully while again, Saka is definitely down on Tofoley right now because you brought him in to help score goals, I don’t think it’s the end of the world right now for Tofuli. I do think those goals are eventually going to come for to Foley as something uh we’ve talked about and this isn’t even the longest scoring scoreless drought he’s gone through. um in the with the Kings he had a uh 16 games uh during the 1819 season uh where he from November 16th to December 17th h same time frame. So he had a 16 games without a goal during that time. All right. In the uh that was the 1819 season. Typholey still ended that year with 24 goals in the 1819 or sorry no that year u so that year he only ended up with 13. So tough year for tofully that year, but I still think like this is a guy who is going to give you 20 goals even if this year has not gotten off to a great start with the five goals so far this year. And I still think he is a 20 to 25 goal scorer for the Sharks this year. And that is okay. Uh and especially with the emergence of Will Smith uh and his goal scoring prowess and he is currently on pace for 30 goals and if Moscelbrini is anywhere like over 40 goals. Tyler Tofoley getting 20 to 25 goals and if Will William Equin can be in that 20 to 25 goal range as well like that is okay for where the Sharks team is at right now. So um and again he’s doing a lot of other positive things except for just putting the puck in the back of the net. So I think it’s coming. I think Tofoi is going to hit a hot streak here. And I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of December if tool is already over the 10 goal mark, right? So if I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s like a five plus goal month for Tyler tofully uh in December because I think tofully one is too good and two um I think he’s just been having some bad luck. Like you you look at the Vegas game, right? He had a wide open net right there. Someone just got their stick in. Hannah Finn did a great job getting his stick in the way. Like you see he’s had some great chances and they just haven’t gone in. Uh Tyler’s goals are going to to start coming here, especially if he’s playing with Smith and he’s playing with Celebrity, right? We know those guys are the engine for the Sharks right now. And whoever they play with is that person is going to benefit uh from them. And I I think the way that Tofoley plays the game where he is that netfront presence type of guy um and the way Smith and Celibbrini play, they’re going to do a bunch of cool stuff and all old Uncle Tyler has to do is just hang out in front of the net and he’s going to get some tapins here. And I think once he sees that next goal go in, he’s think you’re going to get the monkey off the back uh from him. I think he’s going to go on a bit of a hot streak here because he’s he’s been playing too well. And I know he’s he’s dealt with some injuries and stuff this season. I know he dealt with an illness, but I think he’s too good of a player and I for this streak to last forever. So stock is down, but I’m I’m 100% buying Tyler Defoley stock right now. uh if you could buy Tyler to Foley stock, but I think he’s a player who’s definitely going to we’re going to be talking about uh in a much more positive light kind of this time next month when uh you know the Sharks they def they have a big road trip coming up here. Um they’re still playing their their schedule has been brutal to start like actually like brutal to start for the Sharks. But um I do think once they once to fully a start scoring uh but two I think once the schedule kind of maybe evens out a little bit here too and you’re not playing like every ridiculously good team that the Sharks have played and they have you know again you have an East Coast trip here. um uh coming up, but you’re going to have Calgary again. You got Vancouver coming up as well. Man, this schedule is brutal. Uh next the 2026 is going to be the schedule’s going to be very soft for the Sharks at the end of the season. Um but you do have some, you know, some East Coast games coming up here, but I think is going to get things going here. And I I I I just it boggles the mind to be honest that he hasn’t scored uh in in 12 games. With as much as he has used and how good he is, I I think things are going to turn around for him. So, um we’re going to break down Colin Graph’s potential new contract. Uh as he has seen his stock, especially on the penalty kill, uh just go insanely high right now. So, we’re going to talk Colin Graph here uh in just one second. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place live bets as the game unfolds, every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Uh, live betting is best when the game starts to shift, a receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover. FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. Uh, live spreads and money lines adjust instantly. They have player props updates as players get hot. Uh, I still like the Darren Waller anytime touchdown. He almost had one today. Uh, and as long as Darren Waller is healthy and on the field, it feels like he’s probably going to score a touchdown for the Dolphins. So, or CMC anytime touchdown also feels like a lock, too. So, uh if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FanDuel, the games moves fast and so can you. All right, before we finish up, I do of course want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first lesson today. For your second listen, check out the allnew locked on NHL game night every game, every night until Stanley Cup champions crown. Get local announces on national scale. Find NHL game night on lockdown NHL on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcasts. All right. Uh Colin Graph, who has really seen his stock rise uh this month and especially with his play on the penalty kill, right? him and DeAndrea have become a really great uh tag team combo on the penalty kill. So much so that uh that those two players ranked third and fourth uh DeAngth when it comes to penalty kill minutes this season among forwards. Uh Sean Curley, Jake Evans, Ty Andrew, and Colgraph are one are your top four uh penalty minute killers. Uh Dandre’s got 8142. Colgraph 7824. DAR of course uh can take face offs. So that’s why he’s got the little bump there, especially on like uh you know five on threes or four on three types of sen areas. But anyway, graph though has really seen I think his game stabilize. uh you you see the way he plays in all three zones like Shang likes to call like winning hockey. He did a really great job of kind of breaking down uh on a recent article on San Jose Hockey Now just kind of a shift from uh Colin Graph and just that tenacity, right? That dog per 60 in him where he is going to make things difficult uh and and make those winning plays that every team needs, right? He’s that Swiss Army uh type of player of whatever you need me to do, coach, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna give you a million% every time. And a someone asked me on Twitter like, “What does a colon graph contract look like?” And I thought it was such a great question, I want to explore it here. So, um, with contracts, a couple things to keep in mind, right? big, you know, uh, kind of in factors with it are ice time and production, right? Um, those are big factors. Guys who play more and score more get bigger contracts. So, I wanted to look at kind of players who are around the same age or so and similar kind of production and with a lot of PK minutes. Um, and also those like just third line winger type of players, right? And and try to find what I thought would be a fair contract to base off of. And a couple guys came up and not all of these guys are are third line guys and, you know, maybe some are a little bit older and stuff, but again, we’re trying to trying to find other contracts to base it off. So, um, one guy who kind of came, you know, when I was looking at it, uh, was Martin Pipilli of the Calgary Flames, and he’s a little bit older. He’s 26. Colin Graph just turned 23, uh, in September. Uh, and, you know, for possibility, he’s been like not like a a big kind of goal scorer, you know, production guy. He has 49 points in 144 games. Just for example, Colin Graph has 23 points in 65 games and this year he’s got 10. Uh let’s just say Graph, you know, if he kind of continues at the same trajectory that he’s on, um he probably finishes like 30 35 points, I think, is pro, you know, a fair assumption for Colin Graph, right? U probably somewhere in that range is that 35 point range for for Graph. Maybe he’s got like 10 goals, uh 25 assists. we’ll just make it nice even numbers while playing you know 75 80 of the games for for graphs. So, I think that’s easy numbers to work with, right? Uh, so he uh back to uh possibility, he was a he’s a little bit older, like I said, he’s uh just signed this off season at the age of 26, coming off a two-year deal, $1 million. He signed a three-year deal at $2.5 million. So, um, again, production-wise, like it’s it’s fair to say I think Colin Graph is more likely going to perform at a a little bit higher pace than that. So, again, I think that’s that’s very much a a baseline contract to potentially look at. Uh, then I looked at Vasil Pot Coulson who just signed a new contract. So, he’s he’s entering the last year of his deal at two years at $1 million as well. Uh he’s 24. He just signed an extension that kicks in for next season. Um and that is a three-year deal at $2.95 million. Uh Paken, he is a little bit well, one he’s a player who was a a top 10 pick. So, that is going to be something you have to kind of keep in mind. um as you know is that like those guys are always going to kind of get that second third chances, right? Uh but last year he scored in 82 games he had eight goals, 16 assists, 24 total points uh 82 games. Um and you know didn’t really get much like he got a little bit of PK time. He’s about 42 seconds a game PK time, but you know, and much deeper, much more cap uh constrained team like Edmonton, you know, like he’s going to they’re going to have to kind of stretch those dollars out a little bit more. So, uh and this year in 26 games, he’s got four goals, six assists for 10 points. So, it’s very like the exact same production or similar production for for Colin Graph, right? So, he signed a three-year deal, like I said, three-year deal at uh basically just under two point or just under $3 million, right? Another player. And then I just wanted to look at kind of like how other third line wingers are paid. And then I went to Connor Brown, who’s much older, right? He he’s 31, uh starting year one of a a four-year deal with the New Jersey Devils. similar production, uh less games, but he’s got six goals, three assists, nine points in this season. Uh he plays 1314, uh 515 time and 250. He’s a big-time PKER like Colin Graph. So, his deal is, like I said, four years at $3 million. And I I think that $3 million is probably a really good starting point for the Sharks. I would go with probably like something around if I was, you know, looking at where Graph is in his career and, you know, as his team continues to get better, you would assume he’s going to continue to get better and you might see more production out of him. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sharks signed him to a like a three-year deal, which he would still be an RFA after. Like, he’ll be an RFA until uh he doesn’t become UFA until uh 2030. So, I think a three-year deal at about $3 million, maybe a little bit more, especially with the cap going up here. Um, I think that feels like it’s something pretty fair for both sides, right? Where, uh, you have a guy who was an unrestrict, you know, was an unsigned, you know, college free agent has come in here and has worked very hard, has fit into a role with the Sharks, right? Um, and I think for the Sharks who do have $50 million in cap space and what’s looking m more and more increasingly like it’s going to be a really meh pre free agency. Signing some of your homegrown talent to contracts like this and rewarding some of your homegrown talent, I feel like it’s a really nice win and it sets a really nice precedent for everybody involved here. So, I think three years at $3 million uh feels like a really fair contract for Colin Graph. And you know, if you’re wondering where maybe that fits in. So, three right now 3 million uh for other third line right-wingers. That would put him at one, two, three, four, five, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. So, he’d be tied with Connor Brown at the 12th most expensive third line winger, which I think is fair, especially when your other guys are so inexpensive, right? And I know you’re going have to pay Celibbrin and Smith here at some point, but um even if you you just carve out $30 million of cap space for Celibbrini and Smith, uh and that’s, you know, that’s being very very very, you know, out there with their potential cap projectors. you still have plenty of other money to do other things. And again, a guy like Colin Graph who I feel like is going to be that, you know, heart and soul type of player where whatever you need him to do, he’s going to go out there and do it and he’s done it so far and I think that’s a really fair contract for all parties. So sign me up three years at $3 million. So for Colin Graph, that’s what I that’s my pred my prediction. So um but that’s going to be it for me today. Uh we’ll be back tomorrow. Like I said, we’ll have a uh preview for the Utah game. We have a guest coming on uh to help break down the Utah game. Um and then we have a uh interview coming up later this week as well. So, plenty of great stuff here. Uh make sure you guys are following along wherever you get podcast. And of course, you can watch on YouTube as well. Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on Tik Tok at lockedown sharks. Follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole. Uh until tomorrow. Bye, friends.

San Jose Sharks surge through November with Yaroslav Askarov’s breakout performances anchoring the team’s turnaround. Can this rookie netminder’s momentum fuel a deeper rise in the Pacific Division? JD Young explores Askarov’s incredible 1.88 GAA, .944 save percentage, and the vital role he plays in covering up defensive lapses for the Sharks. Key questions include whether his hot streak signals a long-term solution in goal, and what this means for San Jose’s development path.

Tyler Toffoli faces a goal drought despite strong underlying numbers—will his luck change as the schedule softens? Meanwhile, Collin Graf’s stock climbs thanks to his relentless penalty-kill efforts, with JD Young breaking down what a new contract could look like for the versatile winger. Get insights on the Sharks’ leading scorers, projected role shifts, and why fans shouldn’t count out veterans or emerging young talents as San Jose aims to sustain momentum.

Timestamps:
00:00 Who’s Stock Has Risen?
04:13 Sharks’ Confidence in Askarov
07:29 Askarov Gives Sharks Winning Edge
11:31 Sharks Updates & Tyler Toffoli
16:04 Tyler Toffoli Ready to Rebound
20:10 Collin Graf’s Penalty Kill Rise
21:31 Collin Graf’s Value & Versatility
28:45 Fair Contract for Collin Graf

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