When the San Jose Sharks open training camp on Thursday, one thing will be clear: there is a ton of internal competition.

The official roster for Sharks training camp hasn’t been released, emphasizing how big the camp will be. After signing Oliver Wahlstrom to a PTO/AHL deal on Tuesday, the Sharks will now need to figure out who is on their roster.

There are certain guarantees that the Sharks will have. Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, and William Eklund will all be top-six forwards against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 9.

But will they be on the same line to start? Who knows? Below those three, there are spots to be won for the top six forwards and even power-play units.

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Michael Misa and Will Smith are both centers and will compete to win that position. The San Jose Sharks have said that Smith will get the chance to play his natural position this season, at least to start.

Grier says the plan is to get Will Smith back to playing center next season. #SJSharks— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) April 18, 2025

If Smith wins the battle over Misa, there is no guarantee that he will be the second-line center. Ryan Warsofsky could opt to put Smith as the third center behind Alexander Wennberg to allow the 20-year-old to face some easier matchups.

Smith and Celebrini’s chemistry will be hard to separate if Smith moves back to the middle full-time. The Sharks could keep the young duo together on the power-play, allowing the most creativity possible.

If Misa wins the battle and starts as a center, Smith and Celebrini could begin on the same line again.

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Other forwards like Jeff Skinner, Philipp Kurashev, and Collin Graf will be fighting for spots in the Sharks’ top six.

Here’s what I predict the top six will look like on night one against VGK:

Misa-Celebrini-Toffoli
Eklund-Smith-Skinner

Misa projects to be a center long-term more than Smith. However, I can see the San Jose Sharks using a similar plan as they did with Smith and start him on the wing, higher in the lineup. Smith is owed and deserves the opportunity to have a crack down the middle.

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