Will Smith Has Found His Game, But Sharks Say He’s Got More To Work On

San Jose Sharks rookie Will Smith has 17 points in his last 17 games. He scored for the third time in the last five games and is up to 32 points this season.

The forward struggled at the start of his NHL career, as he didn’t score his first goal until game nine. On the night he scored his first, he scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks.

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The center-turned-winger will eventually return to his natural position down the middle, but for now, he’s succeeding on the wing.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky understands that while he is putting up offensive numbers now, he’s still got a lot to learn.

“He’s definitely been a lot better here as of late. There’s still things he needs to improve on,” Warsofsky said. “A lot of it has to do with he just learned what it’s like to go off a two-week road trip, go through his first trade deadline, lose a friend in a trade, the emotion of all that, the mental they come back right away playing a hockey game on a Saturday night after their long road trip. He just went through a lot, and he’ll learn from it.”

Smith didn’t play the Sharks first few sets of back-to-backs for “development days” as he adjusted to the NHL. The former Boston College Eagle has never played this many games in a season, so it has been an adjustment.

The 19-year-old recently changed his stick to allow for a quicker release of his shot. Since the switch six games ago, Smith has four goals and four assists.

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While Smith told reporters after the game he changed that he doesn’t think it made a difference, the numbers show he’s starting to get more shots on goal. In the last six games, Smith has 19 shots on goal, including a career-high six shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 3rd.

His future was bright, but now the offensive production is following.

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