The San Jose Sharks appear to know what they\u2019re doing, when it comes to developing prospects.<\/p>\n
Last year, there were many questions about the Sharks keeping rookie Will Smith in the NHL, especially after the 2023 No. 4 pick\u2019s slow start.<\/p>\n
Through Jan. 18 last season, Smith had six goals and 15 points in 40 games.<\/p>\n
The Sharks had the option, in the summer, of giving Smith another year of development at Boston College. Even in-season, they could\u2019ve sent the NCAA product down to the AHL\u2019s San Jose Barracuda.<\/p>\n
This year, there were many questions about the Sharks keeping rookie Michael Misa in the NHL, especially after the 2025 No. 2 pick\u2019s slow start.<\/p>\n
Through Jan. 16, in part because of injury and a tour of duty with Canada at World Juniors, Misa had one goal and three points in just 10 games.<\/p>\n
The Sharks had the option, before Misa\u2019s 10th NHL contest, of re-assigning the CHL product back to the OHL\u2019s Saginaw Spirit.<\/p>\n
In both cases, San Jose braintrust projected confidence that both teenagers would be able to learn on the fly and not be overwhelmed by the best hockey league in the world, a tall order, to be sure.<\/p>\n
But San Jose should know their prospects better than anybody.<\/p>\n
Smith certainly proved the Sharks right last season, racking up 12 goals and 30 points in his last 34 games.<\/p>\n
And Misa appears to be following Smith\u2019s footsteps, with three goals and nine points in his last 11 games, highlighted by his first-ever OT goal in a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.<\/p>\n
MICHAEL MISA SCORES HIS FIRST CAREER @ENERGIZER<\/a> OT WINNER \ud83d\udd25 <\/p>\n What a moment for the 2025 second overall pick! pic.twitter.com\/oauE5GVLDM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) March 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Extra-impressive for Misa, he\u2019s doing it as a center, a big defensive challenge for any rookie, not to mention an 18-year-old.<\/p>\n Warsofsky is seeing improvement: \u201cWinning pucks, and he\u2019s playing with pace. His second effort on pucks is really impressive for a young man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been just playing harder on guys, giving them extra cross-checks and stuff like that,\u201d Misa said. \u201cThat can lead to offense.\u201d<\/p>\n Case in point, in the second period on Sunday, Misa bumped star 29-year-old winger Kyle Connor off the puck and took it the other way.<\/p>\n Slowly but surely, Misa is getting better. While the San Jose Sharks, understandably, are still leaning heavily on the far more polished Macklin Celebrini and Alex Wennberg up the middle, Misa skated a career-high 15:39 this afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s earned it. He has earned it by the way he\u2019s played,\u201d San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n Ryan Warsofsky<\/p>\n Warsofsky laughed when asked about switching Graf for Sherwood: “Knew you guys were gonna ask about it\u2026We don’t base everything off analytics. There’s other things that come in play, like I’ve spoken about. We’ve seen them have some chemistry, we also just got Sherwood, and\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Michael Misa<\/p>\n Will Smith<\/p>\n Smith shares #SJSharks<\/a> bench view of Misa’s OT goal: “It was pretty crazy. We saw him getting that speed there, he’s a great skater, so we knew something was gonna happen. Little bit of a broken play that he put in the back of the net against one of the best goalies in league.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Vincent Desharnais<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not the same player as when he came in.\u201d<\/p>\n Deharnais on Misa\u2019s growth as a player<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t