San Jose Sharks forward Will Smith took contact during Monday’s optional practice for the first time since he suffered his upper-body injury.

Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t officially rule out Smith as a possibility for Thursday’s matchup against the Washington Capitals either.

“Taking it day-by-day. This is step one of the process is to get him out of that [non-contact] jersey [and] get some contact today,” Warsofsky said. “I’ll get an update this afternoon.”

Optional skate today for the #SJSharks. On the ice currently: Iorio, Klingberg, Mukhamadullin, Askarov, Ned, Misa, Leddy, Goodrow, Desharnais, Regenda, Skinner, Grad, Chernyshov, and Smith (who is in a normal teal)

— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) January 12, 2026

After a tough loss to the Vegas Golden Knights 7-2 on Sunday, many of the Sharks opted to get out and skate despite just playing a back-to-back. The San Jose Sharks have completed two sets of back-to-back games and have two more sets on the road before returning for just one home game.

“We’re not skating tomorrow, we’re just gonna fly. There’s a little bit of that. We’ll skate on Wednesday in Washington,” Warsofsky said. “Just to get out there, there are some guys that didn’t play last night. There are some guys who played less minutes. Obviously, some things in our game we have to continue to work on and clean up.”

Adding Smith back into the Sharks’ lineup could be a big boost. Smith’s linemate, Macklin Celebrini, is excited about the return of not only his winger but also his best friend.

“I think he’s just happy he’s almost back,” Celebrini said. “I think he’s feeling pretty good and obviously strong. He’s just excited to be on the ice again, skating with the guys, practicing with us. He’ll be back soon.”

Philipp Kurashev is further behind Smith

Another injured San Jose Sharks forward is Philipp Kurashev. Kurashev suffered an injury in the same game as Smith against the Pittsburgh Penguins. While it is known that Kurashev has been skating, he has yet to join the team.

Per Warsofsky, Kurashev won’t travel with the Sharks at the start of the road trip, but there is a chance he could join at the end of the four-game road trip.

“He won’t come on the trip. There’s a possibility he could join us at the end of it,” Warsofsky said. “Like I said, he was always a little bit further away than Smith.”

Celebrini is also excited to eventually get Kurashev back in the Sharks’ lineup. Smith and Kurashev were Celebrini’s wingers during that game against the Penguins.

“I think Kurashev is pretty close as well. We’ve missed those guys,” Celebrini said. “They’re two of our top offensive guys, skill guys. It just helps having them in the lineup.”

Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin also participated in Sharks practice and are expected to join the team on the road.

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