During his mid-season check-in, San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier was asked about the possibility of 19-year-old Will Smith playing in the AHL playoffs.
“I think those [with] playoff hockey at the pro levels can be very helpful and a big part of development. Playing those games means something where every puck touch and every decision you make can determine the outcome of a game. As far as Will goes, it’s a bridge we’ll have to cross at the end of the year and see how he’s feeling physically, right,” Grier said. “He’s going to be playing a ton of games, more than he’s ever played. You just have to see how his body’s holding up and have a conversation with him to see how he’s feeling. With [Mike] Potenza, what his numbers look like, as far as how much weight he’s lost and things like that. We just have to be smart about him. He’s a big part of the future. We don’t want to put him at risk. Would it be good for him, if possible? Yeah. But, you know, we also have to be smart about it as well.”
While Grier didn’t explicitly rule it out, it seems unlikely that Smith would spend the entire season in the NHL, double the number of games he played from year to year, and then be sent to a team with which he hasn’t played a single game.
During the 23-24 season, Smith played 41 games at Boston College, seven at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors, and five at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. Smith is up to 45 games in the NHL this season and has eight goals and 13 assists. He’s currently on a five-game point streak.
It wouldn’t make sense to send Smith down for the playoffs, as Grier’s points about his physical condition are valid. The last thing the San Jose Sharks need is for one of their top young players to get hurt in a high-intensity environment. The 19-year-old is listed at six feet and 181 lbs. He is still growing and getting stronger as he ages.
For Smith to be eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs potentially, he would need to be sent down in a paper transaction before the 3 p.m. ET NHL trade deadline on March 7. After that point, all 32 NHL teams get four non-emergency recalls for the rest of the season. Smith would use up one of the four regular recalls.
If a player gets hurt in the NHL and a replacement is needed from the AHL, San Jose can still call someone up without using one of its four recalls.
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Grier didn’t rule it out for Macklin Celebrini either, but he stressed the same concerns he had for Smith. Team Canada could also call Celebrini to play at the 2025 Worlds.
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