San Jose -The San Jose -sharks are too used to being out of the playoff picture right now of the season, and in recent times it has probably been guilty of just playing out the string.

While the last sharks are across the corner in the identical situation this season in the identical situation and the NHL trade period, such a lukewarm attitude of the condition of their reconstruction and the younger players on the squad-now is completely avoiding.

“We have 25 games to really do and be competitive,” said Shark's coach Ryan Warsofsky on Tuesday. “I thought there was only in recent years that you only get through the games and reached the end of the season. We try to take part in competitions. “

The story indicates that it will be a challenge, especially with the sharks (15-35-7), which is expected to discharge more corpses from 8-25-6.

Every year the Sharks experienced a defeat of nine games and lost nine games with three or more goals.

Although there is no guarantee that the shark's record will be better this season, they want to avoid at least the same moral, one -sided losses. Part of it is on the relative youth on the squad, including the development of rookies Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Collin Graf and other gene Z players such as William Eklund and Henry Thrun.

Nobody may be crushed regularly.

Warsofsky said this year's squad will be “probably younger if we get under control all week and in the next few weeks, and I am sure that we want to see some people who want to see (in the AHL) that We (in the AHL) want to see with the (Barracuda) before hopefully making your playoff run.

“So there will be mistakes. There will be puck play errors. There will be systematic errors. As a coaching employee, we will continue to teach and train you and drive them forward and promoting profit habits and basic habits. So if we arrive next year, you can (we can) run the ground. “

After the NHL held its schedule for the 4-nation view, the Sharks' practice marked the first time on Tuesday that they had been together on February 8 since its 8: 3 defeat against the Dallas Stars. The loss was the tenth in their last 11 games, since they fell in the overall ranking of the NHL in the overall ranking of the NHL.

The break was urgently needed – physically and mentally – since the sharks have only won five out of 27 games in the Colorado Avalanche since the Handelstorwart Mackenzie Blackwood on December 9th.

“It was great,” said Shark's Rookie Center Macklin Celebrini. “It certainly benefited me. I have the feeling that it helps to get a little time after the first half of the year to refresh a kind of refreshment. “

The sharks are supposed to practice every day this week before leaving seven games to a discouraging road trip on Saturday, which starts on Sunday with games in Calgary and on Monday Winnipeg.

On Tuesday morning, Warsofsky met with the Leadership Group of the Sharks and articulated its expectations for the last two months of the season.

“We are not here to play around. We want to try to get better every day, ”said Shark's winger Tyler Toffoli. “We said that every one yr round. We just need to make our game constant and it starts with the training. “

The sharks welcomed injured veteran centers Alexander Wennberg and Nico Sturm back to training on Tuesday. Sturm has missed eight games in the injured reserve in a row since January 22, and Wenberg missed four games in a row with a problem with the upper body. Both were complete participants in the training on Tuesday and are on the right track according to Warsofsky to play this weekend.

Wenberg and Sturm, who have 34 points together this season, will not solve all the problems of the sharks, but should be a numerous team that was the leading goal scorer Mikael Granlund and the top pair defender Cody Ceci.

In training on Tuesday, Wenberg centered the second line with Fabian Zetterlund and Will Smith on the wings, and Sturm, a pending Ufa, who could be on the move before the deadline, centered the third line with his wings Luke Kunin and Collin Graf.

“Loads has happened, Real the Blackwood would exchange,” said Warsofsky. “You exchange our start goalkeeper, then lose (granlund and ceci) and not only good players, but also good people, and that affects them. We hit our stomach there and influenced our game.

“Although we sometimes competed, we sometimes escape games. And now we have to reset. These boys moved on; We also have to continue. This is the business in which we are in. “

Increasing injury: Warsofsky said that striker Nikolai Kovenko (upper body) will probably be available to play again before defender Jan Rutta (lower body) can return. Kovenko, who had missed the last three games before the break, drove on Tuesday morning and if he was not on the team's flight to Calgary on Saturday, he could partially connect the team through the road trip, said Warsofsky.

Rutta, a pending Ufa, missed the last six games before the break, and his injury lasts longer than expected. Warsofsky said it was too early to say whether Rutta on the journey, which lasts until March 6, can join the sharks in some unspecified time in the future.

Remarkable: The sharks remembered by Graf and Jack Thompson from Barracuda on Tuesday. Thompson was combined with Shakir Mukhamadullin during training.

Originally published: February 18, 2025 at 6:31 p.m. PST

A big a part of the NHL can be within the winch for a rare 10-day break within the season-a likelihood to charge and heal before the playoff printing.

But while they’re at home in Europe or hanging within the states with the family or lazing on a beach within the Caribbean, the Piña Coladas sips, most of them will control the primary best hockey tournament for the reason that 2016 World Cup from 2016 .

“I think it's sick,” said one player. “Best best. Everyone desires to see that. I'll watch. “

The face of the 4 nations may not have the history of the Olympic Games or the depth of the field of a World Cup, but it will still be that Connor McDavid against Auston Matthews, Aleksander Barkov against Elias Pettersson and countless other tantalizing matchups sprays.

The best players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will compete in a round-robin tournament in Boston and Montreal. The two teams with the best round-robin record (three points for a regulatory win, two points for an overtime or shooting iron, one point for a loss or a loss of shootout and no points for a loss of regulation) will meet on February in Boston. 20 for the championship.

asked 110 active players – who was granted anonymity so that they could be brutally honest if necessary – if they are interested in the tournament, and the vast majority of them said … of course with some exceptions.

Those who play in the event are interested. Well, 15 of the 16 that we at least asked. But some of them live in both the present and in the future and see the 4 nations as an audition for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

“The last time we had a full international, best best tournament was the World Cup, and that was every week until I did the NHL,” said a team of Canada's player. “We didn't have that in my entire career. … With the Olympic Games next year you want to do well – to obviously win the 4 nations and hopefully be part of these events in the next seasons. “

“Just because it is a forerunner of the Olympic Games,” said one other player who was right. “As a fan of hockey, I have a look at it. I keep in mind that I grew up. These are only so big hockey moments. It is great for hockey basically.

“I'm there, so I will certainly take care of it,” said a Swedish player of the team. I show who I’m and it’s a team of coaches that I actually have not had an excessive amount of to do up to now.

And the participating player who was not interested?

“I prefer to go home (my home country),” he said. “I would rather have a two -week break. It is shit that you miss the two -week break, but it's cool that you are playing against the best players. Apart from the Russians, there must be no in there. That's stupid. You are currently the best players. “

Understandably, he was not the just one who exit apathy over countries from the tournament.

“If our nation is not part of it, I don't worry,” said a Czech player.

“(My country) is not in it, so not really (interested),” said a player whose country doesn’t compete. However, I feel it was too long that the fans need to see the best-on-best hockey, so it's exciting for them.

“I, a guy whose country does not participate, I don't care,” said one other Czech player.

“There should also be Russia there,” said a Russian player.

Interestingly, one other Russian player said: “I will watch US Canada, but that's it.”

A Canadian player who was not chosen for participation said he was on surpassing his country.

“Every time there is an international stage with the best players, there is a feeling of Canadian pride.”

In fact, Canadian players generally gave a greater probability than Americans.

Some players said they may take it or leave it. You won’t strive to follow the motion, but you won't change the channel when it occurs.

“I am interested in it? No,” said one player. “I think it's a cool concept? Yes.”

“This is our break,” said one player.

You hear loads in regards to the “growth of the game” within the international game, and although this is usually the realm of ​​responsibility of the league agency, players also understand the worth of getting a highlight during considered one of the quietest months of the sports calendar.

It is actually a progress from one other vigorous all-star weekend that many players have for fear.

“I think everything that such public is so big is great for the league if you only have a look at it,” said one player. For the league.

“I think it's cool,” said one other player. “I think the game will definitely expand. This best competition is great as a fan. If I can see it, I will definitely be inserted into myself. I think it's really cool to have things like that. It obviously makes the schedule a little more difficult, but I think it is still cool and pleasant to see. “

“It will really be a good hockey,” said one other player. “And that's what you want. It is not the case that there is a meaning behind it like the Olympic Games or Worlds or World Juniors. That doesn't have that. But it is an spin -off of it, but they also create a crazy, great tournament that is really fun to see hockey. And I will be interested to see how it works. “

As for the 20 players, they said that they aren’t really interested? Leave them alone. Can't you read the extraordinary answer?

“I will enjoy my beach time to be honest,” said one.

The first #4Nations The face-off will go to Montreal and Boston from February 12 to 2025. pic.twitter.com/u2qrhy6FLD

– NHL (@NHL) June 8, 2024

The athlete

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Matt Murray checked out the scoreboard above him, counted down the seconds as they disappeared and at last pumped his fist.

It had been 638 days since Murray last felt that feeling come over him.

Bilateral hip surgery forced the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender out of your entire 2023-24 season, the ultimate term of his four-year contract. There was no guarantee that the oft-injured Murray would play within the NHL again. A one-year contract gave him the lifeline to proceed operating far out of the limelight within the AHL with only one goal.

And over a yr and a half later, Murray was back where he struggled: within the NHL win column after stopping 24 shots in a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

“A long way. A big mountain to climb. But I kept that moment in my mind on the days when it was difficult,” Murray said.

With every word he said after the sport, the 30-year-old's eyes became redder. His voice was shaking.

“A big release,” he said, struggling to seek out the correct words to place his nearly two-year absence from the NHL into perspective. “A rush of emotions.”

The goalkeeper's typical hugs along with his teammates after the win were tighter and longer. In a physical game where a player's profession can turn right away, Murray's return resonated way over the 2 points the Leafs also added that day.

“It’s nice to see (Murray) smile,” Steven Lorentz said, “because you know he’s back doing what he loves.”

In the locker room, Max Domi immediately presented Murray with the team's WWE-style wrestling belt as Player of the Game. Murray's inconsistent performance was secondary.

“He got the thing 100 percent, he deserved it,” Domi said. “The ability to mentally persevere after all those days where I'm sure he had a lot of doubts is a long road to recovery. “We're all super happy with him.”

It's easy to quantify how long Murray's journey back to the NHL took in days: 628 of them between his last two appearances.

It is much more difficult to describe exactly how difficult this journey is.

Injuries have dogged Murray throughout his career, having won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in his first two seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. From 2018 to 2022, his play declined each season. After being traded to the Leafs in the summer of 2022, he struggled through his first season. It was fair to wonder if hip surgery would be the final blow of his NHL career.

But Murray still stayed with his teammates at the Leafs' training facility during his rehabilitation last season, feeling so close but so far away from the league he once conquered.

“The fact that he’s on his way here right now says a lot about his character and his commitment to the game,” Lorentz said.

Murray had a stand full of his equipment at this facility that was never used. An important and human gesture from the Leafs organization, but still a reminder that Murray didn't play any NHL games.

Even after signing a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Leafs, he felt like the organization's No. 4 goaltender. When the Leafs needed a goaltender to replace the injured Anthony Stolarz, they called up Dennis Hildeby. The lanky Hildeby is seven years younger than Murray.

How could Murray not wonder if his NHL return would ever come?

“There were definitely times when it felt really difficult,” Murray said. “But whenever I felt like that, I had a great group of people around me. That’s the only reason I’m here.”

All Murray could do was work his tail off far from the public eye and quietly hope for the return that finally came on Friday evening.

“Emotions were high today,” Murray said.

These emotions were perhaps at their highest before the game. The typically stoic Murray allowed himself to pause and appreciate how far he had come.

“I was able to take a moment during warmups and during the anthem to look around and appreciate the long journey it has been and think of all the people who helped me get here,” Murray said.

It was a game that reminded viewers of the fragility of an NHL career. Only a few years separated Murray from winning the Stanley Cup to largely retiring from the NHL, all essentially before the age of 30.

“You feel bad for a guy like that because he works so hard and wants it so badly,” Lorentz said. “We’re all rooting for him.”

Murray moved quite well on his return. He swallowed many of the 27 shots the Sabers threw at him and looked every bit the veteran he’s. Murray had conceded two goals and was recalled after a video review. His long-range save on Sabers forward Alex Tuch was a reminder of the athleticism he can provide now that he's also fully healthy.

These are all qualities that Leafs fans could have forgotten. But they’re qualities which are still on the forefront of Murray's Leafs teammates.

“I haven't forgotten what he accomplished in his career in this league,” said Leafs forward Max Pacioretty, who is not any stranger to debilitating injuries that threaten his profession. “It's hard to even begin to remember what you've done, what you've achieved, because it seems like all the noise is always in the moment, be it the injury or what's happened recently. “

Perhaps the Leafs victory could have been predicted in advance. Sure, they were playing against a shaky Sabers team that had now lost twelve in a row. And they were worn by an up-and-coming, red-hot line consisting of Max Domi, Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson. They're the third line in name only: The trio combined for three goals and six points against the Sabres.

But the opponent shouldn't denigrate what was at the forefront not only for Murray, but also for the Leafs in Buffalo. They wanted to do right by a player who did everything in his power to return to the NHL. You didn't have to squint to see a defender like Jake McCabe throwing the Sabers out of Murray's crease with a little more vigor.

“It gives you some incentive to go the extra mile knowing that (Murray) went the extra mile just to get back to the position he's at,” Lorentz said. “It's not that he was half-hearted about getting back to this point and that he expected to be here. Surgeries and injuries like the one he went through can put a damper on your career for a long time. You may never be able to return to your old form.”

But Murray is working to get back to his old Matt Murray. And the Leafs' need for Murray won't end as they head north on the QEW back to Toronto.

Stolarz's earliest return from a knee injury is anticipated to be mid to late January. Hildeby doesn't exactly have the total confidence of the Leafs organization for the time being after allowing just a few poor goals against the Sabers at home in a recent outing, combined with a less-than-stellar AHL season up to now. He will likely develop into an NHL player down the road, but there’s room for him to proceed to develop and develop into more confident in his game.

But Murray has what no other goalie within the Leafs organization has: experience. And that's vital for Brad Treliving and Craig Berube: Both value games played and would like to depend on veterans if possible.

They will depend on Murray due to the whole lot he has done and been through in his profession.

After Friday night, this profession looks completely different.

“The reality is you have to take each day as it comes and you never know when it will all be over,” Pacioretty said. “So you don’t want to take days for granted.”

After drying his eyes and slowly removing his sweat-soaked goalkeeping gear, Murray sat alone within the locker room. The Leafs equipment staff stopped unloading bags from the locker room to softly pat him on the shoulder.

Murray looked up and saw a note on a board within the locker room. The Leafs bus would go away in 20 minutes. There was one other NHL game on the horizon.

He was capable of smile again, knowing that it definitely won't be 628 days before he can do what he loves.

LAS VEGAS – Four of the last five Stanley Cup-winning teams got here from states that don’t levy income taxes – and 7 of the last ten finalists.

These winning streaks by the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars have understandably sparked debate about whether the teams involved have an unfair advantage by signing players at below-market prices.

In many cases, players who sign up those states – Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada and Washington are among the many states that impose no income tax apart from federal taxes – would lose thousands and thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their contracts in the event that they played north of the border or in high-income-tax states like California, New York, New Jersey and Minnesota.

The NHL is keeping track of the situation.

In a recent poll of fans, 84.6 percent of the 14,066 respondents said teams in states without income taxes have a bonus. Of those, 42.8 percent said changes should be made to level the playing field, 41.5 percent said the advantage just isn’t large enough to justify complex changes, and 14.7 percent said the problem is overblown.

“This topic comes up in our room from time to time at the board and general manager level,” NHL Vice President Bill Daly said on the NHL's European player media tour in Prague last month. “There are no easy solutions. It's not like we can just pick from column A and solve the problem overnight. Players choose where they want to play for a variety of reasons. Their financial gain is one of them, but the quality of life and the communities they live in are probably more important.”

Daly reiterated that sentiment Tuesday on the NHL's North American Players Media Tour in Las Vegas. He said while it's too early to say if that is a problem that should be addressed, he has spoken to the NHL Players Association concerning the issue and the consensus is that it will be too complicated to level the playing field.

For example, even when the league systematically adjusted the salary cap for teams in states without state income taxes, what would occur if a player was traded or sent to the minor leagues? And assuming a player is willing to sign a “hometown discount” contract that’s lower than he could have gotten elsewhere, how problematic wouldn’t it be to try to find out how much of a reduction he took?

The NHLPA doesn’t see this as a significant problem to this point. Executive Director Marty Walsh met with the 2 dozen players who took part within the media tour in Prague and explained that it’s a difficult problem to unravel and that it just isn’t considered a problem in other leagues.

As Daly said, “This is nothing new. It has always been there.”

However, some actors see a necessity for motion.

“They have to find a way to change that, frankly,” Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto said Tuesday. “When you look at all these free agents, you can't blame them for going south. It's the way it is, and it's best for their families, taxes and lifestyle. But I think they have to find a way, especially for the Canadian teams. They have to overpay guys every time to come to Canada, and that messes up the salary cap. I think they have to find a way to balance that out.”

“I know it's not easy, because it's always been that way, but I think it would be nice if everyone had equal opportunities.”

To be fair, few complained about Florida's lack of income tax when the Tampa Bay Lightning were doormats within the Nineteen Nineties. Few brought up the problem when the Florida Panthers didn’t make the playoffs from 2000 to 2011 and didn’t advance past the primary round from 1996 to 2022.

“I think every place has its advantages, whether it's lifestyle, and taxes are certainly a part of it,” said Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg, whose team, with no state income tax, had a stellar summer by signing Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension and Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei to contracts totaling greater than $166 million. “At the end of the day, it makes quite a difference in our salary. That's a fair point. I don't disagree with that.

“It is above my pay grade to decide whether something is right or wrong.”

Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar signed an eight-year, $50 million contract with the Calgary Flames in 2022. He previously played in Florida and was signed alongside Jonathan Huberdeau in the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster.

Alberta has a relatively low income tax rate compared to Canadian provinces. Still, on his current $6.25 million-a-year contract, Weegar would earn about $950,000 more if he were paid in Florida, according to the Turbo Tax and Smart Asset websites.

That doesn't bother him. But he would like it if the league and the players' union found a mechanism to create a balance in the next collective agreement.

“You definitely feel like there could be another people drawn to those teams down south,” Weegar said Wednesday. “So there could be something in the following CBA to work something out. But ultimately, the Tampas, Floridas and Nashvilles are winning teams. That's what really attracts people. When we start winning on the New Yorks and Calgary, no one really cares concerning the taxes.

“The contracts are big enough already. You don't really notice the taxes, not that much. You still live pretty comfortably. So I would say when you start winning, you'll get your guys to come and your free agents to want to play there.”

Just as Stamkos and Marchessault moved to Nashville from Tampa Bay and Las Vegas, respectively, defenseman Brandon Montour moved from one state with no income tax to a different. One day after celebrating winning the Stanley Cup during a parade on A1A in Fort Lauderdale, Montour signed a seven-year, $50 million contract with the Seattle Kraken.

He said taxes weren’t the essential reason for his decision.

“You can't say money isn't an issue,” Montour said Wednesday. “But for me, that wasn't what we were going for. We also had places with the highest taxes that we were considering. I've played in California. I've played in New York. Of course, the salary looks a little better when you're in Florida and Seattle. But that wasn't something we were focused on.”

“We tried to find something that fits our lifestyle and our family and that we can call home.”

Montour tried to know how the league and the union could handle the situation.

“What do you do, like take a percentage off the cap?” he said. “For example, if Florida signed someone for $10 million, would they take a percentage or 2 percent off the cap or something? I don't really know what they could possibly do.”

Montour said every player has different reasons for signing some other place, and there are lots of areas with high income taxes which can be attractive. He believes it's only a debate because these teams are in a cycle of winning.

“There are just too many variables that you can't really control,” Daly said, “including the fact that there are some markets that are very attractive to players and that have, so to speak, the highest tax rates in the world. But there are also other opportunities, other things that make these markets attractive to players.”

“So I think there's so much to consider when it comes to where a player wants to play and what he's willing to do to get there. And a lot of that has to do with team chemistry, how teams are put together and how the player positions himself in terms of the needs of the team. Taking all of those variables into account, I think, is going to be a very difficult task.

“However, there are after all rumors, particularly within the Canadian media, that Canadian franchises are at an obstacle. We take these rumors seriously and are at all times searching for ways to enhance the system. I just don't have any obvious answers to them.”

Daly was asked if he could envision a scenario where teams in Florida, Vegas, Nashville, Dallas or Seattle have a lower salary cap than other teams. He said, “I don't think we could ever have a distinct cap for various teams, although in some respects we do, by way of how the CBA works and bonus overages and things like that. So I suppose there's perhaps a formula that you might envision that way.”

“I have other ideas that I prefer to this one.”

When asked if he would share it, Daly laughed: “No.”

“Look, there are some rough ways you may attempt to make adjustments to account for this,” Daly said. “I don't think this issue is about attempting to push something through, especially without really pondering it through thoroughly and running it through all of the possible channels. I feel sometimes once you rush to do something based on talk, you sort of step right into a hole and the unintended consequences sort of come out.

“We'll continue to monitor it. If we can improve it, we will. I mean, I could be wrong. If the next 10 years go the way the last five have, then maybe that's something that needs to be addressed. But at this point, based on a couple of summers, I'm not really running to get there.”

For Radko Gudas, that’s superb.

The Anaheim Ducks defenseman pays 13 percent income tax in California, in comparison with zero percent when he played for the Panthers. Still, Gudas said succinctly: “I don't think the NHL should get into tax trouble.”

Four of the five Canadian world junior ranked players accused of sexual assault in reference to a June 2018 incident in London, Ontario, have been released by their NHL teams because they weren’t made a qualifying offer before Sunday's deadline.

Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames and Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils are all now unrestricted free agents. They had all been on paid leave from their teams since late January, once they were ordered to show themselves in to the London Police Service to reply to sexual harassment charges.

A date for the negotiations has not yet been set. Each team had to choose whether to make a qualifying offer to retain the NHL rights to those players by 5 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Flyers, Flames and Devils all opted to not achieve this.

Had they done so and the offers been accepted (which they almost definitely would have been), the players would have continued to receive pay and would have remained on leave throughout the legal process, which could potentially last the whole next season.

There are currently no restrictions on them immediately signing with one other team, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed Sunday night, but given the uncertainty surrounding their situations, it is going to likely be difficult for any of them to achieve this.

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association have been in talks in recent weeks a couple of possible freeze on players' status pending litigation, in response to league people acquainted with the talks, but they’ve not been in a position to agree on how that might be implemented.

It is feasible that Hart, Dubé, McLeod and Foote will explore opportunities to proceed their careers in Europe – just as Alex Formenton, the fifth player alongside them, did the last two seasons in Switzerland with HC Ambrì-Piotta.

Formenton's NHL rights remain with the Ottawa Senators until July 1, 2027, as he received a qualifying offer following the 2021–22 NHL season, which he didn’t accept and was subsequently placed on their reserve list.

The five players are accused of an incident in June 2018 that occurred in a room on the Delta London Armouries Hotel following a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the world junior team's gold medal win.

Two charges of sexual assault were brought against McLeod, and one each against Dubé, Foote, Formenton and Hart.

Required reading

The Sharks have their future No. 1 center.

And now additionally they have their future No. 1 defender.

I'm sure the Sharks didn't expect 6-foot-3, 200-pound defenseman Sam Dickinson to be on the board after they chosen No. 11. After all, he was expected to be the third defenseman chosen on Friday – probably in the highest seven.

But when he was ranked eleventh and there have been already 4 defensemen on the roster, the Sharks didn't hesitate to take him.

It's a simple, logical selection that provides incredible value to the Sharks. Dickinson, a left-handed defenseman for the London Knights, was the runner-up within the Memorial Cup and provided the very best power play within the OHL with great passing and fluid skating, scoring 70 points last season.

Because of his extremely powerful shot and connection to London, Dickinson has been in comparison with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard.

There are definitely worse comparisons. And I can see that on offense, but defensively it underestimates the child. He's shown a powerful sense of the little things that make a huge impact in rush defense, and while he doesn't show much grit within the defensive zone, he definitely has the dimensions to get forward from his spot.

I'm fascinated by how well he can play when he's not on the ice for greater than half-hour per game. He will need to have slowed down in London.

He's not perfect. He seemed a bit confused at times when he was starting his breakout season with the Knights, but after his seventeenth season, it's not such as you're drafting a finished product anyway.

With the signing of Celebrini and Dickinson, the Sharks now have arguably the very best talent pool within the NHL.

However, this team still needs a top-tier right guard. Perhaps that's the case for the team's two first-round picks in 2025.

Since Friday, the Sharks' top defensemen – Shakir Mukhamadullin, Henry Thrun and Luca Cagnoni – are all left-handed, as is Dickinson.

If it is a problem, we'll discover soon enough.

There are few players within the NHL today who can move like Dickinson, let alone be the dimensions of a defender that might give him a bonus once he steps on the ice as an expert.

Is the remainder of his game ready for the NHL?

I can imagine a world where he comes back and dominates the OHL next season.

I may see him playing plenty of minutes next season for the San Jose Barracuda within the AHL. The Sharks are using the identical development model for Dickinson as they did for Mukhamadullin, who played 67 games for the 'Cuda over the past two seasons.

Regardless, the Sharks expect Dickinson to turn into a key player for the franchise within the not too distant future.

And all in all, with Celebrini – a future superstar – and now Dickinson – who you possibly can easily see as an “underrated winner” – it was an incredible day for the Sharks in Las Vegas.

Here's to just a few more of those in the approaching years.

LAS VEGAS — General manager Mike Grier and other members of the San Jose Sharks front office recently had dinner with Macklin Celebrini. Grier said the meeting was extremely nice because Celebrini showed a maturity unusual for his age.

It didn't take long for everybody to note one other element of the teenager's personality.

“His parents raised him really well,” Grier said of Rick and Robyn Celebrini. “But if you sit down with him for two minutes, I think you can really feel his drive and his competitiveness just jumping out at him.”

If the Sharks select Celebrini first within the NHL Draft on Friday on the Sphere in Las Vegas, they are going to not only get their future No. 1 center, but in addition someone who will lead his team into battle.

Considering the Sharks are expected to field a young team next season, this trait should make Celebrini extremely useful to a rebuilding franchise.

“It raises everyone's standards,” Celebrini's friend and fellow hopeful Cole Eiserman said Wednesday. “In practice, when a player is really competitive and he's tearing you down … it gets annoying and you want to get back at him. It inspires other players to be competitive and it creates a really positive atmosphere on the ice and in the locker room. It makes everyone better.”

“He plays a really complete game at both ends of the ice, he's dedicated and I love his competitiveness,” Grier said of Celebrini after the Sharks won the draft lottery in May. “You watch him practice and he works on every drill and does his best in every drill. He wants to win every puck battle.”

“He is a truly unique player at this age.”

That competitive spirit is at all times there, even when it's nearly having fun.

On Wednesday, Celebrini and 4 other top talents led a clinic for girls and boys ages 5 to 10 on the City National Arena on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The talents and young children did some fun drills before a casual game began.

It didn't take long for Celebrini, Zeev Buium, Tij Iginla and Zayne Parekh to show up the intensity. Celebrini and Iginla were on one team, Buium and Parekh on the opposite.

“I know we had a lot of fun out there,” Celebrini said. “I think we were a little bit ambitious.”

Soon, just a few guys were running from coast to coast, attempting to get certainly one of the young players to get a shot on goal. There was the occasional shoving of the boards, jostling in front of the goal, and perhaps even just a little trash talk amongst the longer term NHL stars.

“Macklin was a little upset that he was over there and had to lose to me again,” said Buium, a defenseman who played a key role within the University of Denver’s victory over Celebrini’s Boston University Terriers within the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals in April.

Wednesday's event was held along side the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, whose members helped conduct the drills and remained kind of on the sidelines during informal games.

“These guys come out here, the pressure is off, and you can see their passion and love for the game and their competitive spirit,” said former NHL goalie Al Montoya, a member of the coalition. “Me? I've got my back against the wall so my legs don't get ripped out from under me. These guys don't care. They're having fun out here, and (Celebrini) is a damn good player, and he's going to be a damn good player for a long time.”

For Celebrini, this desire to win and – just as importantly – this hatred of losing is an element of his DNA.

Not only were his parents outstanding athletes themselves—Rick played for the Canadian national soccer team and Robyn was a standout soccer player for the University of British Columbia—but he also frequently competed against his older brother Aiden and his friends throughout his childhood in North Vancouver.

I asked Macklin Celebrini what his decision – to go pro or return to highschool – will likely be pic.twitter.com/qrHtN8FdTC

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) 27 June 2024

“I feel like as a kid you always want to win,” Celebrini said while talking to reporters after Wednesday's event. “I always played against my brother and his older friends or my friends. You never want to lose because then someone has something against you. If it's your friends, they can get mad at you about it.”

“This competition has always existed, and I feel like where I grew up, I just grew up with it.”

Four years ago, when Eiserman and Celebrini were teammates at Shattuck-St. Mary's, they became so competitive sooner or later that they broke one another's rackets.

“I actually still have his broken cane in my room,” Eiserman said. “I took it back from Shattuck and will always keep it.”

Celebrini has not officially said whether he’ll turn pro or return to Boston University for his sophomore yr. The winner of the 2023-2024 Hobey Baker Award as the most effective college hockey player said that call will likely be made after the draft, after further discussions with the team that takes him, his parents and his advisors, although it could be a surprise to see him return to highschool.

Once he turns pro, the Sharks will get a special player, with loads of competitive spirit and all.

“Watching him play in Shattuck, skating with him, practicing with him, it's unbelievable,” Buium said. “He's got the shot, he can skate, he's got hands, IQ, he's got everything. And if he's not scoring, he's probably going to run you over.”

“So the Sharks are getting an all-rounder. One who will help them win the Stanley Cup.”