Sharks’ Practice Power Play; Smith & Celebrini Collaborated With Staff In Offseason

While some San Jose Sharks faced the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, the top talent stayed behind to work on special teams.

According to the Mercury News, the Sharks are giving defenseman Luca Cagnoni the first crack at being the PP1 quarterback. Another potential surprise is the addition of winger Igor Chernyshov to the top unit.

“The top power-play unit featured forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith on the flanks, defenseman Luca Cagnoni on the point, center Alexander Wennberg at the net front, and Igor Chernyshov in the bumper position,” Curtis Pashelka wrote.

The two San Jose Sharks prospects join Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Alexander Wennberg on the top unit. Wennberg displayed an incredible ability to screen a goalie, which came in handy for Celebrini during last season’s playoff push.

“[Chernyshov’s] game is growing just from an individual standpoint, and so we want to give him a good look here,” Sharks assistant coach Brian Wiseman told Pashelka. “At least today we did, and as we move forward, we’ll see how it all plays out with the remainder of the guys and how the units look. But he certainly did a good job for us last year as a young kid coming into this league.”

The San Jose Sharks’ power play was something head coach Ryan Warsofsky said needed improvement last season. With training camp here, those changes can finally be put on display. Warsofsky noted that conversations with the team’s top players about what needs to happen have taken place. He’s also made sure it’s a collaborative effort between players and coaches.

“Watched a lot of film. A lot of conversations with Wise and me about some things we want to do. A lot of conversations with Mack and Will [about] what we want to see in that power play,” Warsofsky said on Saturday. “That really started at the end of last season. We’ve progressed through the summer, had a lot of conversations. We have a good plan going into the season.”

SHD pressed the Sharks bench boss about what exactly Smith and Celebrini’s contributions were to the conversations.

“We need some patience on it, and we rush things. So we’re trying to get them to understand that side of it. But on the flip side, yeah, they’re the ones out there making plays,” Warsofsky said. “We want them to have some freedom to do some things that they’re elite at and have been elite at for a long time. There’s a double-edged sword there. We need to be organized. We need to be direct; we can’t go off script as much as we probably did last year.”

Warsofsky mentioned that the dynamic duo of Smith and Celebrini aren’t creating plays for the PP yet. He said it will “grow throughout the season.”

Although the Sharks’ power play finished 16th in the NHL last season (21.2%), it often felt like it never came through when the team needed it most.

As for the second power-play unit, the team will mix young veteran talent with young stars. Both Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg, the NHL’s last two No. 2 overall picks, will be on the ice. The unit also adds offseason acquisition Mason Marchment. The two returnees, other than Misa, are Tyler Toffoli and Dmitry Orlov.

“If you look at a lot of the successful penalty kills or power plays that are at the top of the league year after year, they’ve been together for a couple, three years, four years,” Wiseman said. “So we’re trying to build that cohesiveness with this group, with our 10, 11, 12 guys that we have, so that we can take some significant strides.”

The San Jose Sharks did not practice on Monday and will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. Puck drop at SAP Center for the second preseason game is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.