Will Smith says the plan for him is to play mostly wing this year.
That’s something of a surprise, given GM Mike Grier’s declaration last April that Smith, picked as a center by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 Draft, would be returning to his original position at the beginning of the 2025-26 season.
But a lot has happened between last April and September, including the Sharks selecting center Michael Misa with the second-overall pick of the 2025 Draft.
So it’s also not a surprise, considering that Smith enjoyed most of his rookie season success on the wing. Wing also represents Smith’s best chance to play regularly with good friend and franchise center Macklin Celebrini.
Smith spoke on the plan to play mostly wing this year, getting passed over by USA for Olympic Orientation Camp, and insight into how San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky led USA to World Championships gold.
Will Smith, on his goals this season:
There’s a lot of expectations for me from the team and myself. I’m super excited and ready to get going.
Smith, on the moves made by Grier during the off-season:
They’re great. I think we brought in a lot of veteran presence—guys who have been in the Stanley Cup and guys who have won. I think having those guys around definitely helps.
Smith, on whether the San Jose Sharks team this year feels any different:
Maybe a little bit. I think we, obviously, want to be more competitive in this league, and that starts with all of us. We’re doing it for the fans. As I said, bringing those guys in is definitely going to help.
Smith, on what will get them to be competitive:
It’s all-around. You watched those games last year—we were good through the first two [periods], and then kind of let go in the third period. I think everyone knows that, and that’s something we have to clean up. It’s all around. I think we all want to win, and like I said, we want to do it for the fans too.
Smith, on his focus during the offseason:
Putting on some weight, getting faster. I was in the gym a lot. Once I got home from Worlds, I was pretty much all in Boston making sure I was staying on top of that.
Smith, on how last offseason differed from this offseason:
Last year was kind of a crazy summer. I had to make the decision if I was going to sign, and then coming to development camp and training camp, and then kind of running around. This summer was more, like I said, when I got back from Worlds, I had way more time to just go to the gym and be at home more, so I think that definitely helped. Right now, I’m around 188 [pounds].
Smith, on whether the coaching staff has talked to him about what they want to see from him at center:
It’s good to have the versatility to be both. I think this year, I’m going to be mainly a wing, but I also worked on draws over the summer a lot. I’ve been given tips from a lot of really good centers in the NHL, so if I need to take a faceoff in a game or at any point on a power play or anything, I can do it.
Smith, on what went into the decision to play wing more this year:
We talked about it a lot over the summer. At Worlds, I was a wing and mostly last year towards the end of the year. Getting used to that and being versatile to do both, that’s something that I definitely can and want to do.
Smith, on what he likes about being on a line with Celebrini:
I think our chemistry is really good. We look out for each other a lot, and it’s nice playing with a guy that can drive the play like that. He also has the vision and the shot to do it too, so it’s very nice.
Smith, on playing for the USA and winning gold at Worlds:
It was amazing. We needed that … is pretty crazy, and we knew that going into it. To be able to break that bad stint there, it was pretty amazing. I’ve played for Team USA since I was about 16, 17, and being able to do that on the world stage was pretty cool.
Smith, on whether he got to know Warsofsky a bit more playing on Team USA:
It was a little different, I think, because I was the only guy on the team from the Sharks besides the other staff members. It was just nice that we were doing some of the same systems and stuff, so I knew that going into it. Obviously, he’s my coach during the year, so we already had that relationship prior to the tournament.
Smith, on what Warsofsky did to help them win the gold:
What he does here. He was pretty blunt with the fact that it’s kind of unacceptable for the United States to go this long without winning. He motivated our group, and I thought we had a great group of guys that all bonded pretty quickly. It was a great tournament and we got the outcome we wanted.
Smith, on whether he saw a different side of Warsofsky at Worlds:
Maybe a little of both? I think because he’s proud to be American, he took that job very seriously when he got it. I know he’s thrilled that we won that tournament.
Smith, on whether there was a little disappointment in not getting invited to the orientation camp in Michigan:
Definitely added fuel to the fire. I think every guy wants to be on that team, so it’s something you want to be at. Like I said, I love playing for my country.
Smith, on whether Team USA had any feedback for him or specific things for him to work on:
I mean, I’m not going to worry about it too much. America’s got a bunch of amazing players, as everyone knows, so I think I just play my game, and you never know.
Smith, on how Celebrini looks so far:
Looks good as usual. I think this can be a big year for him, and I’m sure he’s going to take a massive step.
Smith, on whether he and Macklin want to take on a more leadership-oriented role this year:
Definitely. I think a lot of people are looking to us to help us get to that next step. It’s not just going to be us, there’s all the new prospects, all the guys, and even the older guys that we brought in are going to help us do that. It’s obviously not going to happen at the snap of a finger, you have to work at it.
Smith, on how Warsofsky balances expectations and urgency with approaching the playoff hunt coming into this season:
I think he feels that and we feel that. We know how long it’s been and what the fans here deserve—how good San Jose was in that chunk of years in the 2000’s. We want to do it and he wants to do it, so we have the right group of guys.
Smith, on if Grier gave a message to the team:
It was last night. He touched on the same things, that we had to start competing in this league and get that respect that San Jose deserves.
Watch the full interview here. Thanks to Maddie Dutra for transcribing.