San Jose Hockey Now Podcast

This week on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast we cover the state of the rebuild. What’s gone right? What’s gone wrong? What are some potential options going forward for rebuilding the San Jose Sharks?

But before all that, we have some news of the week, including a Vanecek injury leading to a Yaroslav Askarov callup, (02:00) and an update on the Nico Sturm injury. (04:00)

We discuss the San Jose Sharks’ recent play and do a line-by-line discussion. (05:05)

Is this the most depth the Sharks have had at forward in years? Sheng ponders. (10:30)

We talk about Will Smith changing to wing, the Celebrini-Smith duo and what Goodrow gives to that line.(17:50)

Next we cover the defense pairs, including the addition of Liljegren and his pairing with Ferraro. (37:50)

The main topic for the show: What’s going right in the San Jose Sharks rebuild? (51:40)

There’s a lot going right with this rebuild, but what are the questions still unanswered going forward? (1:23:30)

Finally we wonder when should the San Jose Sharks take the next step in free agency and the trade market, and what are some potential pitfalls to try to avoid? (1:29:02)

Thank you all for watching and subscribing on YouTube!

It’s been a busy couple weeks of San Jose Sharks news!

On this episode of the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, we cover it all!

Macklin Celebrini returns…what are our rest-of-season expectations for him? Sheng has a bold prediction! (1:33)

Will Smith scored his first NHL goals…we discuss why the San Jose Sharks kept him up in the NHL. (12:10)

Danil Gushchin and Ethan Cardwell got sent down, how did Sheng and Keegan see their time in the NHL? (20:15)

Why should the San Jose Sharks keep Mikael Granlund? Sheng added a couple extra arguments. (26:05)

What else do we think of Sharks forwards this season?

Why weren’t the San Jose Sharks just up front about what was going on with Jake Walman? (39:20)

We react to the Timothy Liljegren trade. (47:55)

Finally, we talk Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, and Jack Thompson. (55:29)

Welcome to a new, pre-Timothy Liljegren episode of the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast!

Sheng and Keegan share their impressions of the San Jose Sharks’ first 11 games…recorded before the Liljegren trade.

But before we break down the Sharks’ 2-7-2 start?

What’s the latest on Macklin Celebrini’s injury? (3:18)

What’s Sheng hearing from scouts about the San Jose Barracuda as a playoff contender? (6:24)

Also, Sheng thanks all of you who contributed recently to his travel fund. Keep San Jose Hockey Now at San Jose Sharks' road games! (19:45)

What are our thoughts about these Sharks through 11 games? (24:48)

First, the forwards!

Mikael Granlund (25:30)

Next, San Jose Sharks defensemen (including the just-traded Matt Benning!)

Jake Walman (1:26:16)

Finally, the goalies! (1:43:41)

This week on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast we cover a winless opening of the San Jose Sharks 2024-2025 season, and a surprise Mike Grier press conference. What does Grier have to say about Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, and the beginning of the season? We cover it all here. First, we discuss the development plan for Will Smith as described by Mike Grier. (02:52) We discuss load management, Smith's recent play, and what we think the goals are for this year for Smith. Second, Grier provided some clarity on the severity of the Macklin Celebrini injury. How long can the San Jose Sharks expect to be without their young superstar? (17:15) We cover the AHL play of Luca Cagnoni and Kasper Halttunen, and whether Grier thinks they stick in the AHL the whole year or get sent back to the CHL. (22:50) Grier gave a quick update on the Quentin Musty/Sudbury Wolves situation. (31:25) Finally, we discuss some of the bright spots in a so far winless season. Toffoli, Eklund, Granlund and Zetterlund are providing s spark in an otherwise poor opening for the Sharks. (43:00) Thanks so much for watching and subscribing!

What did we think of the first week of San Jose Sharks’ action?

Welcome to a new episode of the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast!

But before we get to our reactions to the losses to the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks, let’s talk about the San Jose Barracuda’s opening weekend.

Kasper Halttunen and Luca Cagnoni break camp with the Cuda! We can also put to bed any concern that Yaroslav Askarov isn’t willing to play in the AHL and his opening night celly. (1:45)

What’s the latest on Macklin Celebrini’s hip injury? (17:05)

What are our takeaways on the San Jose Sharks’ opening homestand? (25:58)

We debate playing Danil Gushchin on opening night, and scratching him for the second game.

What did we think of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith’s first NHL games? We also chat Mikael Granlund. (50:10)

We both have praise for the line of Alex Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow, and Luke Kunin. (59:40)

Keegan is loving Jake Walman. (1:05:43)

We discuss Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, and Matt Benning’s up-and-down performances.

What did we think of Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek? (1:11:33)

Does William Eklund have more to give? We also talk Tyler Toffoli. (1:13:29)

Our closing thoughts about the San Jose Sharks’ start! (1:19:14)

The San Jose Sharks have announced their opening night roster! We react to the roster on this episode of the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast. But before we deep dive the San Jose Sharks’ roster, we talk about the big Quentin Musty news. (01:33) Musty has requested a trade from the Sudbury Wolves…we speculate as to why. And now, our thoughts about the San Jose Sharks’ opening night roster! (10:30) We touch on pretty much every forward, first waxing poetic on Danil Gushchin busting his way onto the roster. We talk possible No. 1 center Macklin Celebrini and what we expect from Will Smith. (32:52) Sheng defends Luke Kunin and the Sharks’ cohort of high-compete forwards once again. (50:27) We also touch on the forward prospects who didn’t make it this time like Ethan Cardwell and Collin Graf. (1:13:46) On defense, we focus on Henry Thrun and Jake Walman. (1:19:10) What about Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson? (1:28:47) Finally, goaltending! We have a sleeper pick for San Jose Sharks’ opening night starter. What about Yaroslav Askarov? (1:43:35) Thanks for listening!

Who are our San Jose Sharks’ preseason top-10 prospects? (53:20)

That’s our discussion on this week’s San Jose Hockey Now Podcast!

But before we get to that, we touch on some of the big news from the first week of San Jose Sharks training camp.

What’s the latest on Shakir Mukhamadullin, Yaroslav Askarov, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s injuries? (2:37)

What’s going on with some of the major training camp battles? (5:28)

And now, our top-10 San Jose Sharks prospects! Keegan and Sheng have separate lists.

Let’s chat about, in no particular order, our honorable mentions. (15:54)

Thomas Bordeleau (16:11)

At No. 10, Keegan has Gushchin. Sheng has Luca Cagnoni. (1:07:43)

At No. 9, Keegan has Filip Bystedt. (1:12:50) Sheng has Igor Chernyshov. (1:15:40)

At No. 8, Keegan has Cagnoni. (1:18:23) Sheng has Halttunen. (1:24:08)

At No. 7, Keegan has Chernyshov. Sheng has Bystedt. (1:28:46)

Keegan and Sheng agree the rest of the way, though Sheng had plenty of pushback from NHL scouts on No. 2 Will Smith:

Quentin Musty (1:36:34)

This week on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, we discuss all the standouts from San Jose’s dominant performance at the Rookie Faceoff tournament this past weekend. How did the likes of Quentin Musty, Macklin Celebrini, Luca Cagnoni and Will Smith fare against other teams’ top prospects? Find out this week! (06:20)

But before all that, we have some news! There’s a new host at NBC for Sharks pre- and post games, longtime Sharks fan Alan Hoshida. (02:55)

We talked about the defense first, then the forwards for this week’s rookie faceoff: 

Defenseman:

-Luca Cagnoni (06:20)

-Sam Dickinson (20:35)

- Artem Guryev  (25:35)

- Braden Hache (26:45)

- Gannon Laroque and Valtteri Pulli (31:00)

Forwards:

-Nolan Burke (37:07)

-Ethan Cardwell (40:40)

-Macklin Celebrini (47:35)

-Collin Graf (54:02)

-Kasper Halttunen (56:35)

-Quentin Musty (1:02:45)

-Will Smith (1:16:15)

-Carson Wetsch (1:23:35)

It’s been an exciting summer for the San Jose Sharks!

So it’s a good time for a pre-preseason subscriber’s mailbag!

Thank you so much for subscribing! Go here if you haven’t subscribed yet!

Ken Fischer: Now that Brodie Brazil is out at NBC, who are we going to get stuck with for Pre and Post-Game? (3:16)

James R: Any recent chatter about Joe Pavelski joining the San Jose Sharks’ front office or coaching staff in some capacity? (6:15)

Rothgar: What is Shakir Mukhamadullin’s preferred nickname?

Flying Frenchman: Can you talk about the phases of a rebuild and where the Sharks are? (12:28)

Bring Back Celebrini: Since Grier has taken over, he appears to have changed over about 60 percent of the organizational depth chart. Have you seen any other NHL club go through such a dramatic change in such a short period of time, and if so, how long did it take for those clubs to climb back into contention? (20:15)

Chris Boucher: How do the Sharks get into the position where they’re contending for a playoff spot by the 2025-26 season? (33:36)

Joshua: Who do you see as a realistic target for the Sharks to pursue or what position do you see them building upon? (39:50)

SJShorky: Do you think Mike Grier makes some big purchases or acquisitions next summer?

Matt Harrison: Who are some potential free agents or trade targets that you think may be on Grier’s radar in the next 1-3 years?

Stephen Akerson: How do you each view the balance between tanking and establishing a winning culture these next few seasons? I find it tempting to keep chasing top-five picks, but obviously that has to change at some point. (55:38)

Mark Bonham: Which top prospects are most likely to be on the opening night roster? (1:06:41)

Lizbeth DeSelm: Not really a question, but a vision that is both exciting and terrifying. I can’t help but look at the Leon Draisaitl extension and looming Connor McDavid extension and feel like I am looking at issues the Sharks will be facing in eight years with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith (or William Eklund or Sam Dickinson). (1:08:45)

Meetyourmako: I was told that the San Jose Sharks’ goal horn is a foghorn taken from a decommissioned ship, I have been dying to know its provenance? Can you uncover the name of the ship that foghorn came from?

Alaskan_ice: At this point, there are quite a lot of ex-Sharks players around the organization. Some have issues with this process, I like it. Do you think it’s a good idea to bring back people that wore teal? (1:14:20)

TJ: Is there any concern that the Sharks alumni that Grier is hiring back, they never got over the hump and that may translate to the younger players they are developing? Always seemed like there was an element missing from those 2000s and 2010s teams despite all the success.

sharkzilla: Is there anything in the works to get another guest on the show like Pierre McGuire/Jimmy Murphy again (or better yet Greg Wyshynski) talking about the current state of the Sharks’ rebuild? (1:19:42)

Embrace_the_rebuild: How many more seasons would it take before Sharks get to the playoffs? Win a playoff series? (1:26:37)

Gary To: What do you think is Mukhamadullin’s biggest skill-set and what is his weakest skill that he needs to work on?

Jenna B: When should the holiday video return? Who is lowkey the funniest guy on the Sharks, staff or player? (1:36:25)

jacob b: Is this the off-season the best in San Jose Sharks history?

Steven Stoker: Is this the end of Logan Couture’s return? (1:51:18)

David Gotlieb: Who are the best mascots?

Patrick: Among the prospects, who are the potential busts? (2:00:10)

Zeke: What happened to Yaroslav Askarov in the playoffs?

Alex Genadinik: Who should the San Jose Sharks deal at the Trade Deadline? Any surprises there?

Any Askarov-like trade targets for a young defenseman? (2:07:00)

Eric Pichette: Who has the better offensive numbers this season, Eklund, Celebrini, or Smith?

Matthias893: Have there been any indications the Sharks or NBC would be interested in a more direct streaming model? (2:19:55)

Splash114: Of the veteran defensemen, who, if any, do you think will spend time with the Barracuda and/or on waivers? 

George West: What are the odds of Celebrini playing 1C for most of the year? And does Will Smith have a chance at being the 2C? (2:27:35)

El Gato Joe: Why didn’t they buy out Vlasic?

Chaz Marshall: Have the San Jose Sharks hired a Russia-based scout to replace Igor Eronko? (2:35:15)

Fin Coe: What players have benefited or suffered from the Sharks’ system? How has the Luke Kunin trade aged? (2:36:48)

Daniel Almaraz: With the announcement of Celebrini and Smith living with Thornton and Marleau respectively next season, I’m curious, have there been any other Sharks vet/rookie combos that we know about over the last couple years?

Tyler Toffoli joins the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast!

Toffoli talks about being junior teammates with Logan Couture and Cody Ceci, the San Jose Sharks/Los Angeles Kings playoff battles, his view of Couture and Drew Doughty’s “rivalry”, forming a new 70’s Line with Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund, and his NSFW nickname. (56:19)

But before we get to Tyler, let’s talk some San Jose Sharks news!

Keegan and Sheng chat more about the Yaroslav Askarov trade. (02:40)

They take a first look at some of the big roster battles upcoming in San Jose Sharks training camp. (25:00)

We also talk about the latest on Couture and Matt Benning’s injuries. (50:57)

And now, Tyler Toffoli! (56:19)

Toffoli talks about being teammates with Couture and Ceci on the Ottawa 67’s. He also talks about Couture and Doughty’s “war” of words back in the playoff rivalry days. (56:44)

What’s the difference between great or just good in the locker room? (1:01:12)

Toffoli shares his memories of the 2014 and 2016 San Jose Sharks/Kings’ playoff series. (1:05:55)

Who was Toffoli’s least favorite San Jose Sharks player to play against back then and why? (1:09:05)

Toffoli compares the Kings’ rebuild and the Sharks’ current one. (1:12:35)

Toffoli has surpassed 30 goals in back-to-back years, two of his three 30-plus goal campaigns. Why has he gotten better with age? (1:14:50)

What are his thoughts about a new 70’s Line with Celebrini and Eklund? (1:15:45)

What’s the worst part about moving? (1:17:15)

Toffoli discusses his NSFW nickname. (1:18:05)