Breakout Candidate: Will Smith, C/RW
Smith had a strong rookie campaign, especially after joining Macklin Celebrini on the top line, and they’re expected to play together again all season. That definitely changes the fantasy outlook for Smith, who no longer has to anchor his own line. After a quiet December where Smith scored just two points in 10 games, he scored 32 points in 42 games the rest of the way and saw his average ice time creep from 14:19 per game to 19:44 in April. It would be pretty shocking if Smith didn’t improve on last season’s 18-27-45 total and he’s a great late pick in redraft leagues for points and worthy of keeper status in dynasty leagues.
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Buy Low Candidate: John Klingberg, D
You’re banking on potential, right? Over the past two seasons, Klingberg has played just 25 games but, when he’s healthy, he’s still a very capable PP QB. That’s exactly what the Sharks need after a bunch of failed experiments last season; they were so desperate at one point they used rookie Luca Cagnoni in that spot, who performed admirably, or iced a five-forward unit.
Klingberg gives the Sharks something they desperately need, and his skill set is best suited for a power play that should improve with Celebrini and Smith on the ice. The Sharks may have other candidates vying for minutes – Timothy Liljegren among them – but none have the upside that Klingberg possesses. If Klingberg is available in the late rounds of your draft, he’s absolutely worth the gamble. At any given point, there are only 32 defensemen who quarterback top power play units, so it’s a low-cost move to fill a premium stat.
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Riser: Yaroslav Askarov, G
Is Askarov a fantasy stud this season? By volume, probably; by quality, probably not. He does have a pretty tight hold on the No. 1 job for now and definitely into the future. Inconsistency plagued his late-season play and expect Alex Nedeljkovic to get his fair share of starts.
However, since the Sharks are unlikely to be gunning for a playoff spot, the Sharks will keep ensuring their goalie of the future gets his reps. Askarov could receive as many as 50 starts this season, and he’ll certainly see a ton of shots against a defense that allowed the second-most shots last season. The defense has improved, but not enough to climb out of the bottom 10.
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Faller: Alex Wennberg, C
An up-and-coming team shouldn’t have any players who fall by the wayside, but that’s where Wennberg potentially finds himself should 2025 second overall pick Michael Misa make the team. The Sharks plan on playing Misa at center just to see what the phenom can do; they did that with Celebrini and Smith, so they’re not shy about throwing young players right into the deep end.
Wennberg’s fantasy relevance was already marginal, and it’ll be even marginal if he’s pushed further down the depth chart. He doesn’t shoot the puck, he doesn’t score points very often, especially if he doesn’t have high-caliber scoring wingers, and he’s never won more than half his face-offs in any given season. It may be a contract year for Wennberg, but everything else seems to be trending down.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.