The San Jose Sharks head into the week of Oct. 12-19, 2026 with a clear priority: tighten the habits, clean up the defensive details, and find a little more steadiness after a mixed opening stretch at SAP Center and a short road trip through the Central Division.
There have been encouraging signs already, and the biggest one is Macklin Celebrini. In his second full season, the former top overall pick is looking every bit like the player the Sharks are building around.
He’s not just making things happen in open ice. He’s taking on heavy assignments against elite top-line centers, driving possession in the offensive zone, and doing plenty of the dirty work that doesn’t always show up first on a score sheet.
What stands out is the way Celebrini is playing without the puck. His game is built on quick reads, work along the walls, puck retrieval in the corners and a forecheck that can hurry defensemen into mistakes. Through the early going, the young core is showing it can tilt five-on-five play against quality competition, and that’s about as promising as it gets this early in the process.
At the same time, general manager Mike Grier and head coach Ryan Warsofsky are still walking a fine line. They have to keep feeding ice time to the team’s top prospects while also demanding the kind of accountable, structure-first hockey that veterans are supposed to help reinforce.
That’s why the middle-six forwards and bottom defense pairings are still being shuffled. The staff is trying to settle on combinations that can defend properly and still move the puck with enough speed to create offense. This week, that means sharper discipline on special teams, cleaner work in the defensive zone, and more consistency up front.
The penalty box has been part of the problem, and the power play needs better puck movement to create the sort of chances that matter. In their own end, the Sharks have to stop giving up second opportunities around the net by clearing pucks the first time.
The addition of veterans like Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring has already helped steady the blue line, but the group still has to hold up better on repeated shifts. And with line combinations still being adjusted, finding trios that can press without losing their shape remains a major focus.
In goal, the workload has been heavy, and that’s not changing anytime soon. Yaroslav Askarov is continuing to get important starts as he learns to handle high-danger chances at the NHL level. The shots are piling up behind a young defensive group that’s still trying to get better at limiting rush chances, and the crease has seen plenty of traffic early on.
The technical work in net has been solid. Now the burden shifts to the players in front of the goalie. The Sharks need better box-outs, better rebound control, and more control around the crease if they want the results to catch up to the effort.
The week ahead includes a home test against Boston before the Sharks begin an Eastern Conference road trip with back-to-back games in Nashville and Detroit. Boston gives them a disciplined, physical benchmark on home ice. After that, the challenge becomes managing energy and keeping the structure intact on the road, where every shift can swing the night.
In Other News...
Sharks Still Searching For Answers As Offensive Frustration Builds
The Sharks kept tinkering at Mondays practice, a sign that the frustration around their offense is starting to seep into daily work. Ryan Warsofsky shuffled the forward groups and adjusted the power-play units while the club tries to settle on combinations that can create more sustained pressure, and the search for answers has only gotten more urgent with Boston next on the schedule.
One of the more notable changes came up front, where Igor Chernyshov moved into a prominent role alongside the teams top young talent. The morning also brought a separate wrinkle when Barclay Goodrow was not on the ice for reasons the team did not explain, leaving another open question as San Jose tries to sort out its lineup and find some chemistry before puck drop against the Bruins. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Suddenly Have A Big Question Behind Macklin Celebrini
Macklin Celebrini has changed the conversation around San Jose in a hurry, but the bigger picture still runs well beyond one young center. Dave Pagnotta recently framed the Sharks outlook around what happens if Celebrini is in the lineup and, just as important, how the rest of the roster responds around him. For a team trying to build something sustainable, that means more pressure lands on the next wave of talent, with Will Smith, Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg all needing to become real drivers rather than supporting names on a prospect list.
The other layer is in goal, where Yaroslav Askarovs season looms as a major part of the short-term plan. If he gives San Jose the kind of stability it needs, the organization can keep leaning into its youth movement and see how the pieces fit. If not, the Sharks may have to keep working the position while the rest of the roster develops, which makes their early-season evaluation feel even more important. [Read more 🡒]