Just over halfway through the season, the San Jose Sharks have 13 wins, 32 points and the second-worst record in the NHL. Yet, that’s a vast improvement from last season. Despite two losing streaks of at least eight games, they are playing relatively consistent, competitive hockey, which couldn’t be said a year ago. In less than a season, they have become a better, more exciting team with lots of reasons to watch. At the same time, there are plenty of improvements still to be made in the coming seasons. Here are four major takeaways from the Sharks’ first half of 2024-25.
Sharks Are Fun to Watch Despite Poor Record
After last season, the minimum goal for the season was to be bad in an interesting way. The Sharks have handily accomplished this through the first half. Although still near the bottom of the standings, they are genuinely enjoyable to watch, thanks to exciting players throughout the roster.
Last season, the Sharks weren’t just bad – they weren’t interesting. Their roster didn’t have a lot of players who were worth tuning in for. They managed some excitement every once in a while, but not consistently. This season, every position has at least one player who is fun to watch on the ice, and some are must-see.
Among the forwards, Macklin Celebrini is one of the best and most entertaining rookies in the NHL, and fellow rookie Will Smith deserves attention as well as he continues to develop. William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund continue to establish themselves, while Mikael Granlund and Tyler Toffoli are proving to be the veterans the team needs.
On the blue line, Jake Walman provides defense, a huge shot from the point and a fun attitude. In goal, Yaroslav Askarov has been San Jose’s best netminder this season and has lived up to expectations as one of the league’s best goalie prospects. He has a small sample size, but he’s played so well that he might give the Sharks no choice but to keep him in the NHL permanently, far earlier than previously projected.
Related: Yaroslav Askarov on Path to Becoming Elite Goaltender With Sharks
The Sharks aren’t winning a lot — only slightly more than last season — but their outlook has changed. Fans and commentators have taken notice, creating a buzz that was missing in 2023-24. This type of turnaround might not show up in their record, but a leap in the standings might not be far behind.
Macklin Celebrini Is For Real
While plenty of Sharks garner attention, Celebrini’s play has made him the most-discussed member of the team. Some of the statistics speak for themselves — he leads NHL rookies in goals and is third in points despite having played around 10 fewer games than his closest competition. He also remains among the league’s best at winning puck battles and executing zone entries.
Despite the stats, Celebrini’s on-puck ability, skating talent and hockey IQ are incredible for an 18-year-old. His skills at reading plays and knowing where to be on the ice, with or without the puck, on both offense and defense, are talents San Jose hasn’t had in a long time. Combine those factors with a lethal wrist shot and strong passing ability, and you’ve got perhaps the league’s Calder Trophy frontrunner, even though he’s only appeared in 30 games.
Celebrini was the clear-cut first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he’s more than justified the hype at this stage of his career. He has all the makings of a franchise leader and could take on that role very quickly.
Sharks’ Power Play Needs to Come Along
The Sharks still have a lot of room for improvement, and right now, their most pressing issue is the power play. They have failed to score a power-play goal in three straight games and have converted on just two of their last 20 opportunities, dropping their success rate to 17.2%, 25th in the NHL and three percentage points worse than last season’s unit.
Walman’s recent injury has hurt the power play, as the Sharks miss his puck-moving ability and his shot from the point. Desperate to gain some positive developments with the man advantage, the team recently tried a five-forward unit, which managed a few shots but no goals.
The Sharks’ power-play difficulties demonstrate a lot about the team as a whole. If they get Walman back, they should see an uptick in their productivity. But one player’s absence shouldn’t have such a drastic impact on the entire unit. It shows they still need to build up the roster, especially on the blue line, to make it complete. That won’t happen immediately, but if they can bring in the right players, they can introduce a more stable power play — which should mean an all-around stronger team.
Sharks Don’t Need No. 1 Pick at This Year’s Draft
Last season, the Sharks thought they had to get the top pick in the 2024 Draft to make their year worth it. If they didn’t land Celebrini, a lot of their moves and the struggles that came with them would have been for nothing. This season, they’re in a different situation.
While they would still love to wind up with the first selection, they won’t be hinging their future on the draft lottery. They have an elite collection of prospects, rookies and other young players that they’ll add to it in the draft, likely with a top-five pick. They can still choose from a wide selection of excellent candidates, but the necessity of needing the top choice is gone.
Missing out on the first pick, or at least the highest lottery odds, would be a positive on-ice development as well. The Sharks need to show they’re going somewhere not just relative to themselves but to the rest of the NHL. Avoiding a last-place finish in the standings would be a good start, and a lower chance at the number-one pick would be a fair trade-off for such an outcome.
Sharks Still Have a Long Way to Go
Halfway through the 2024-25 season, the Sharks might be entering the uphill portion of their rebuild. But that’s far from a guarantee, and a lot of factors — both in and out of their control — still need to fall in their favor. If the first 42 games are any indication, the next steps of their journey will be even more interesting.
