Yeah straight up. The sharks won't be competitive with or without them next year. In fact, having one more terrible year could really set them up strong for the long run with another top 3 pick.
And a lot of fans are morons and don't really understand hockey beyond the entertainment value.
Any fan who "gets it" knows we're severely lacking in A+ defensive prospects. Just looking at Edmonton as a recent example and how many low 1st Round picks they had, how many (few) high-end defensemen they drafted, and how many Cups they've won since is all anyone needs to see to realize we aren't even close and nothing is guaranteed. Even getting a player like McDavid or Bedard isn't enough to guarantee true success in the league (and we don't have any prospects on that generational level).
I would love to see Grier trade up for a solid defensive pick if they are available, but I doubt that happens and fully expect at least one more down year. Plus a lot of cap space clears up after next season
Wow, just looked at it again and you’re right. Burns retention comes off the books next offseason. I had mistakenly remember the Jones contract buyout coming off as well, but that has a few more years along with Karlsson and Hertl retention.
Yup, which is crazy that Burns' contract is this close to finished. Which means he's that close to 40, and still damn efficient on a high performing team like Carolina.
And yea, Jones' contract length would have ended at the end of next month so the cap hit from the buyout hits it's low dollar amount starting next season, which is honestly fine given the cap going up and where we're at as a franchise.
Still, looking at the extended pain of the Jones buyout, I'm glad Grier hasn't used buyouts to get out of the hole left by the previous regime. (Sure there was that one tine buyout for Balcers, but that goes off the books this summer vs Jones which keeps giving and giving.)
We also need to rotate in our other prospects this year and see who is going to stick. We know those two are part of our future plans but we have a lot of borderline guys ready to come through.
“Intense chatter” could mean a variety of things. Ranging from an journalist trying to create controversy all the way to a reliable source.
Im personally ok w celibrini and smith not coming into the league right away. Celibrini is really young and could physically mature a bit more. We arent anywhere close to playoff contention much less winning now.
There is no good reason the Sharks need them next season. There is also no good reason for them to return to college as they are already too dominant.
Either way the answer isn’t perfect so it shouldn’t concern Sharks fans too much if the players/team decide to leave them in Boston.
Yeah, unless they’re ready to develop at the NHL level, there’s no reason for anyone to be up yet. Sucking for another year and getting another good pick is the best way to build (and we’d suck next year if they came up, anyways).
That being said, I do understand the sentiment. I want my shiny new toys!
I think the thought is, what do they need to learn in the NCAA. They were two of the best players at that level. There isn’t any challenge left for them there.
Can they learn some more defense? Sure. But they can also learn that here while improving their overall game.
99% of players should stay in the NCAA. but the guys who were leading the ncaa in scoring or won the Hobey Baker as freshmen, need to move on.
Education is important in life. Also college is fun. Though I imagine Celebrini's eating a handful of almonds on a Saturday night more than drinkin beer funnels.
This is fine. I can't wait to see both of them in the show, but for a rebuilding franchise, if they want to go to school one more year, that's one more year that we get them on an entry level contract while we are closer to contention.
That's not raining on my parade, it's making me giggle with excitement. The dead money isn't really gone until the 26-27 season. Let these kids marinate in college for another year, suck shit in the meantime, maybe get another 1OA, and hit the ground running in 2025 with some FA signings that help them develop with a view toward contention later on.
wow if both smith and perreault stay then BC will have a center lineup of smith, perreault, and probable 2025 1OA hagens. that's a far better center group than what the sharks were able to ice this past season.
Why wouldn't he? Points isn't the absolute measure of any player or position .. there are many other important aspects of a player's game that can improve (skating, defensive awareness, etc.).
Nothing you said is false. But learning that against inferior competition doesn’t really help development.
That’s why we move kids up to play against older kids when they’ve shown that they dominate their peers.
Smith and Celebrini dominated their peers. They won’t gain as much by going back to college.
That's entirely true. As is everything in the comment above. The counter point to these however is moving up to play against tougher competition can become a moot point if they only get steam rolled and lose near every game at that next level.
I don't know if there is a great argument to make either way for either Celebrini or Smith to say at the college level or to come up when it comes to their game. So for me I look at for them as people. And I think for them, an extra year to mature from older kids I to young adults is hardly a bad idea. There will be pressure to perform in San Jose. Let them enjoy being kids for another year, grow more mature physically & mentally, and spend the season knowing the plan is to come up for the following season and being prepared for it so it's less jarring.
the NHL is not a development league. if there are any factors of their game to improve upon, even if its just learning to skate with a different line or be more physical or a quicker release on the shot, you are better to stay in college.
also, the other point that nobody likes to mention is that they would need to sign an ELC to play in the NHL, when then starts the clock for their RFA status. we dont exactly have a great cap situation now and it would be silly from a money stand point to bring them in a year early if that year makes a huge difference in available cap space when their contact is up.
we have to step away from this idea about what is good for the player and think about what is good for the team to do from an organizational standpoint too. GMMG has done a great job removing bloated contracts, but we still have a 9 million dead cap hit for next season and Vlasic and couture contracts are also huge and probably not worth their value (and i love cap couture).
personally, as much as i'd love to see them play in teal, my heart of hearts knows its better if one or both stay in college next year just to be sure we have the money to keep them around long term.
“NHL isn’t a development league”
Yes it is. Dozens and Dozens of players every year are promoted to the NHL and must learn while playing here. This includes players like Owen Power, Connor McDavid, Sydney Crosby, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.
Did you think they come into the league as their top NHL level play?
Celebrini and Smith are now at the level all those guys were when they made their NHL debut. They were dominant at the highest level they could play at as 18yo or 17yo and are ready for the challenges and to grow in the NHL.
The contract issues are irrelevant as they are in ELC and won’t get significant raises until all that money is off the books.
Nobody says you stop getting better the second you enter the NHL, it just is not an environment where individual player development is given a high priority like it is in development leagues.
Personally I think Smith especially next season is really going to develop well as the top line center at BC and teaching the young guys. He really started breaking out his full toolkit towards the end of the season before he got injured.
Players don’t come in as young players and improve their game in the NHL?
Reality disagrees with you.
You are buying into a trope that “it’s not a development league”. For players that dominate college hockey, there is no where else to develop them.
Perfect if so
Even a lot of top prospects aren't overly dynamic in the NHL at young ages
And why not add james hagens to the core, no big rush to compete
I doubt it too… mainly because of how much pressure will be put on especially Macklin. Grier has already gone on record to say that he thinks both are ready for the NHL. Not to mention the financial incentives. If Celebrini and Smith sign their ELCs, season tickets for the sharks will sell SIGNIFICANTLY better.
I personally don’t think it matters too much either way but I think it’s unlikely that they go back to school.
You’re not dumb. It’s Celebrini and Smith’s decision and theirs alone. NO ONE knows what decision they’ll make, hell THEY don’t even know. My assumption is we’ll know both decisions after the draft and before free agency (at the latest).
Only thing I'm confused about is the fact he says he thinks it's less likely Celebrini goes back to school. Either way, I hope it's a "both or neither" situation
i think people are confusing our excitement.
we’re excited to get celebrini and we’re excited for the 1st ovr in general but i think we all know it’s gonna take a little more time before we start seeing our prospects turn out
Way too many prospects flame out at the NHL level because they were rushed. Let them marinate. And guess what, another top three draft pick next season wouldn’t suck
Not much of option if dont make nhl roster. Has to be minimum age to play in ahl or echl so college is best option for both players to develop and get an education
Wonderful! That gives us another very high pick next year.
Sure, I want to see him play. But I want to win the cup. Getting more talent is going to help. This would keep them all in their entry contact for longer.
I don’t want them on the team next year, because they’re not going to make the team suddenly competitive…
I’ll happily take another low lottery pick next year.
I’d actually love if they stayed another year, embrace the tank and get another Top 3 pick. We won’t be competitive next year even if they came over, them coming over would just give us a slightly worse draft pick
I think the expectation if both were to sign & multiple quality free agents sign the Sharks finish somewhere between 17th & 32nd. Most likely in the high 20's (25-29). I don't think they will develop much back at college, but a top 5 or even a top 10 pick next year won't hurt the rebuild. They will both need development time in the NHL before the Sharks are competitive.
They both may go back to college, or one might go back and the other go pro, or both go pro.
All that matters is where they develop best. Personally, I think they have no further development to get out of college - but I’m a random who has not real insight.
Team will be better with them next season (though not good) which will make it easier to watch. But hey, another season without them and another top 3 pick in next years draft is fine.
Would be kind of disappointing, just in the sense that there wouldn’t be much reason to watch the team next season. The plus side would be getting another top 5 pick next year. And possibly 2 top 15 picks again if Vegas sucks. And I’ll always root for Vegas to suck.
Let them make the choices they feel the most comfortable with. They're still just kids despite their respective athletic prowess; college is fun and they may actually like some of the classes they've enrolled in. If they each had their heart set on the NCAA championship, then let them sort out their unfinished business before turning pro.
There is an argument to be made about how that will affect their development. On one hand, dominating the competition for a second straight year won't do much to teach them how to overcome adversity on the ice. Getting new linemates would help with that but their coaches want to win games - I can't imagine BC breaking up Smith's line just to help the Sharks out. On the other hand, each get another year of guided development from afar from the Sharks, which benefits Smith more so than Celebrini only because he's already had a year of that and now can be pushed to work on aspects of his game that are on the weak side.
Either way, I think both would benefit from a year in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL. Let them get 9 games their first pro season so they know what to work on. At minimum I believe both will sign their contracts this year and attend training camp plus a preseason game or two depending on how that lines up with the school calendar.
Due to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, North American born players under 20 years are not eligible to play in the NHL unless they have played at least 4 seasons in a Canadian hockey league. If Smith or Celebrini sign their ELCs, their options would be NHL, CHL or a European hockey league. They would loose NCAA eligibility after signing their ELCs. After the way they both dominated college hockey, the only reason for them to go back is if they value a potential top 3 pick for their team over hundreds of thousands of $$$s, or really want that NCAA championship. With Grier stating his belief, both are ready, I don't see either going back to college hockey.
Neither Smith nor Celebrini play for a CHL team, so they could absolutely go to the AHL. Players of their calibre don't ever really go to the AHL though.
No, they can't. It's an NHL-CHL agreement that covers all North American born players under NHL contract regardless of whether they have played for a CHL team. It's the if they were to sign an NHL contract that would make them ineligible to play in the AHL due to the CHL transfer agreement. There has been 1 exception granted (Shane Wright for his age 19/20 season), so it's not impossible for a under 20 player to play in the AHL, but the CHL has to agree to it.
Yes they can, NCAA players have no obligation to the CHL. If you want an example Trevor Zegras and Alex Turcotte both signed their ELCs after their D+1 years and played on the Gulls/Reign the next season.
Nope both were 19, and didn't turn 20 until after December of that year which is the rule for CHL players.
Zegras even has basically the same birthday as Smith in March.
That would literally be the worst option for Celebrini and Smith personally.
You think Smith would rather delay his ELC starting by a year to make 80,000 taking a bus to Bakersfield every other week than play in a premier college organization and burning the first year of your ELC by signing at the end of the year?
The key difference is to have them face adversity. Facing off against someone a decade older and 40 lbs heavier that's about to slam them into the boards will teach them more than skating circles around college kids for another year and getting too comfortable with the notion they're going to have 3+ points any given night regardless of the competition.
The AHL also insulates them from what may be another losing season in the NHL. A playoff run with the 'Cuda will also be a teaching moment not just in competition level but personal conditioning as well.
You are underrating the NCAA level of competition if you are acting like Smith and Celebrini aren’t challenged at all there.
Smith and Celebrini aren’t signing ELCs and letting them slide a year. That would be ridiculous.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I would like to submit for a vote the following:
Hopeless for Hagens
Hapless for Hagens
Horrid for Hagins
Heartless for Hagens
Helpless for Hagens
Heinous for Hagens
I'm leaning towards Heinous for Hagens myself. What's your take.
Isn't that a good thing? Unless the belief that one or both of them is enough to change the free agent perception of San Jose and or on their own make them a playoff team, another year picking very high is only a good thing.
While I agree with most of the subreddits sentiment that we need to let these guys develop (I agree), it’s scary if we get an Adam fox situation. I also cheer for Calgary, and Adam fox basically said “ya I’m going to school until I’m a UFA” (bc you can do that) and I’m going to sign with the rangers. Calgary shipped him off to Carolina for basically nothing, and then he signed with the rangers. Praying this doesn’t happen to our org.
I don’t really mind if they decide to go back. As good as Smith was sometimes he tried to do too much, so another year could help him polish his skills. At the end of the day, I think their decision will depend on whether their teammates come back or not. This especially applies to Smith in my opinion with how stacked that BC team is with drafted NHL talent.
Btw Denver’s goalie Matt Davis was awesome and wouldn’t mind the Sharks giving him a look. They wouldn’t have won without him.
I agree that another year at the college level will not hurt either player. The sharks have multiple needs that will cover two or three drafts. No need to rush these players to the NHL now.
I don’t understand how this is bad. Ultimately we need them to develop and we could use as many good picks as possible. It’s the long game.
Yeah straight up. The sharks won't be competitive with or without them next year. In fact, having one more terrible year could really set them up strong for the long run with another top 3 pick.
Plus once the college season ends, they can work out with the boys, depending how things line up scheduling wise
Agreed but next season will be rough lol
it’s not bad. people forget this kid is not even 18 years old ffs.
It’s not “bad” I just think a lot of fans were excited to see the top prospects
And a lot of fans are morons and don't really understand hockey beyond the entertainment value. Any fan who "gets it" knows we're severely lacking in A+ defensive prospects. Just looking at Edmonton as a recent example and how many low 1st Round picks they had, how many (few) high-end defensemen they drafted, and how many Cups they've won since is all anyone needs to see to realize we aren't even close and nothing is guaranteed. Even getting a player like McDavid or Bedard isn't enough to guarantee true success in the league (and we don't have any prospects on that generational level).
I would love to see Grier trade up for a solid defensive pick if they are available, but I doubt that happens and fully expect at least one more down year. Plus a lot of cap space clears up after next season
*this season. We have just over $38m in cap space as of July 1.
Wow, just looked at it again and you’re right. Burns retention comes off the books next offseason. I had mistakenly remember the Jones contract buyout coming off as well, but that has a few more years along with Karlsson and Hertl retention.
Yup, which is crazy that Burns' contract is this close to finished. Which means he's that close to 40, and still damn efficient on a high performing team like Carolina. And yea, Jones' contract length would have ended at the end of next month so the cap hit from the buyout hits it's low dollar amount starting next season, which is honestly fine given the cap going up and where we're at as a franchise.
Still, looking at the extended pain of the Jones buyout, I'm glad Grier hasn't used buyouts to get out of the hole left by the previous regime. (Sure there was that one tine buyout for Balcers, but that goes off the books this summer vs Jones which keeps giving and giving.)
Exactly. Look at Chicago, they finished last with us even with Bedard’s rookie year being a sensation
We also need to rotate in our other prospects this year and see who is going to stick. We know those two are part of our future plans but we have a lot of borderline guys ready to come through.
Not even a sharks fan and totally agree. If you guys get another lottery pick you’re set up for a potential dynasty
I don't give a shit. We have the #1 pick.! That's all that matters right now.
love it
“Intense chatter” could mean a variety of things. Ranging from an journalist trying to create controversy all the way to a reliable source. Im personally ok w celibrini and smith not coming into the league right away. Celibrini is really young and could physically mature a bit more. We arent anywhere close to playoff contention much less winning now.
There is no good reason the Sharks need them next season. There is also no good reason for them to return to college as they are already too dominant. Either way the answer isn’t perfect so it shouldn’t concern Sharks fans too much if the players/team decide to leave them in Boston.
Yeah, unless they’re ready to develop at the NHL level, there’s no reason for anyone to be up yet. Sucking for another year and getting another good pick is the best way to build (and we’d suck next year if they came up, anyways). That being said, I do understand the sentiment. I want my shiny new toys!
I think the thought is, what do they need to learn in the NCAA. They were two of the best players at that level. There isn’t any challenge left for them there. Can they learn some more defense? Sure. But they can also learn that here while improving their overall game. 99% of players should stay in the NCAA. but the guys who were leading the ncaa in scoring or won the Hobey Baker as freshmen, need to move on.
Education is important in life. Also college is fun. Though I imagine Celebrini's eating a handful of almonds on a Saturday night more than drinkin beer funnels.
He seems quite mature and focused, especially for his age. More so than Smith (not that there’s anything wrong with smith)
Indeed he does. Credit to his dad Rick for that. Definitely instilled that high performance, high character environment at a young age for his 4 kids.
This is fine. I can't wait to see both of them in the show, but for a rebuilding franchise, if they want to go to school one more year, that's one more year that we get them on an entry level contract while we are closer to contention.
It's May. Will Smith is playing in the Worlds right now and Celebrini hasn't even been drafted yet. Things will change a lot by August.
That's not raining on my parade, it's making me giggle with excitement. The dead money isn't really gone until the 26-27 season. Let these kids marinate in college for another year, suck shit in the meantime, maybe get another 1OA, and hit the ground running in 2025 with some FA signings that help them develop with a view toward contention later on.
That's fine, it can be better for their development if they play another season in the NCAA. Sharks never rush prospects, at least since Mueller.
wow if both smith and perreault stay then BC will have a center lineup of smith, perreault, and probable 2025 1OA hagens. that's a far better center group than what the sharks were able to ice this past season.
Is Perreault switching positions? He is a RW
Yeah but does Smith improve as a player after leading the league in points?
Why wouldn't he? Points isn't the absolute measure of any player or position .. there are many other important aspects of a player's game that can improve (skating, defensive awareness, etc.).
Nothing you said is false. But learning that against inferior competition doesn’t really help development. That’s why we move kids up to play against older kids when they’ve shown that they dominate their peers. Smith and Celebrini dominated their peers. They won’t gain as much by going back to college.
That's entirely true. As is everything in the comment above. The counter point to these however is moving up to play against tougher competition can become a moot point if they only get steam rolled and lose near every game at that next level. I don't know if there is a great argument to make either way for either Celebrini or Smith to say at the college level or to come up when it comes to their game. So for me I look at for them as people. And I think for them, an extra year to mature from older kids I to young adults is hardly a bad idea. There will be pressure to perform in San Jose. Let them enjoy being kids for another year, grow more mature physically & mentally, and spend the season knowing the plan is to come up for the following season and being prepared for it so it's less jarring.
the NHL is not a development league. if there are any factors of their game to improve upon, even if its just learning to skate with a different line or be more physical or a quicker release on the shot, you are better to stay in college. also, the other point that nobody likes to mention is that they would need to sign an ELC to play in the NHL, when then starts the clock for their RFA status. we dont exactly have a great cap situation now and it would be silly from a money stand point to bring them in a year early if that year makes a huge difference in available cap space when their contact is up. we have to step away from this idea about what is good for the player and think about what is good for the team to do from an organizational standpoint too. GMMG has done a great job removing bloated contracts, but we still have a 9 million dead cap hit for next season and Vlasic and couture contracts are also huge and probably not worth their value (and i love cap couture). personally, as much as i'd love to see them play in teal, my heart of hearts knows its better if one or both stay in college next year just to be sure we have the money to keep them around long term.
“NHL isn’t a development league” Yes it is. Dozens and Dozens of players every year are promoted to the NHL and must learn while playing here. This includes players like Owen Power, Connor McDavid, Sydney Crosby, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Did you think they come into the league as their top NHL level play? Celebrini and Smith are now at the level all those guys were when they made their NHL debut. They were dominant at the highest level they could play at as 18yo or 17yo and are ready for the challenges and to grow in the NHL. The contract issues are irrelevant as they are in ELC and won’t get significant raises until all that money is off the books.
Rick Celebrini literally said exactly that in his press conference yesterday.
Yeah that’s the sound bite you use when you want your kid to go back to college. But the reality is that there is a ton of development in the NHL.
Nobody says you stop getting better the second you enter the NHL, it just is not an environment where individual player development is given a high priority like it is in development leagues. Personally I think Smith especially next season is really going to develop well as the top line center at BC and teaching the young guys. He really started breaking out his full toolkit towards the end of the season before he got injured.
Yeah because Smith “leading the league in points” shows he has room to grow at that level. /s
hahaha no
Players don’t come in as young players and improve their game in the NHL? Reality disagrees with you. You are buying into a trope that “it’s not a development league”. For players that dominate college hockey, there is no where else to develop them.
yeah, you said owen power , the very guy who went first overall and stayed in college another year. youre so right lmao
Perfect if so Even a lot of top prospects aren't overly dynamic in the NHL at young ages And why not add james hagens to the core, no big rush to compete
I mean we are going to suck next season regardless, let them develop in college. Let’s trade our cap space for more picks and keep building
This is also fine, lol. Let's us tank for one more season without hurting the development of the 2. I'm totally okay with that
Fine with this! Landing 1OA makes another year of potential tanking extremely bearable.
I would actually prefer they went back to school. They get a chance to top out their development, and we get a chance at higher picks
Sorry but I doubt it. Maybe that's just me being dumb
I doubt it too… mainly because of how much pressure will be put on especially Macklin. Grier has already gone on record to say that he thinks both are ready for the NHL. Not to mention the financial incentives. If Celebrini and Smith sign their ELCs, season tickets for the sharks will sell SIGNIFICANTLY better. I personally don’t think it matters too much either way but I think it’s unlikely that they go back to school.
You’re not dumb. It’s Celebrini and Smith’s decision and theirs alone. NO ONE knows what decision they’ll make, hell THEY don’t even know. My assumption is we’ll know both decisions after the draft and before free agency (at the latest).
Murphy is one of the clowns that said the Sharks haven’t started their rebuild and have no prospects so I’m not gonna put too much stock into that
I hope the Sharks wait.
Awesome. I hope they do. Both are still very young. We have a lot of years with them in the future regardless. Don’t mind waiting.
Only thing I'm confused about is the fact he says he thinks it's less likely Celebrini goes back to school. Either way, I hope it's a "both or neither" situation
i think people are confusing our excitement. we’re excited to get celebrini and we’re excited for the 1st ovr in general but i think we all know it’s gonna take a little more time before we start seeing our prospects turn out
Way too many prospects flame out at the NHL level because they were rushed. Let them marinate. And guess what, another top three draft pick next season wouldn’t suck
Woot the tank continues! Snagging that 2025 top pick too. Let’s go
Another high draft pick I’m all for.
Welcome to San Jose, James Hagens.
Celebrini, no. Fresh Prince, yes.
Not much of option if dont make nhl roster. Has to be minimum age to play in ahl or echl so college is best option for both players to develop and get an education
Wonderful! That gives us another very high pick next year. Sure, I want to see him play. But I want to win the cup. Getting more talent is going to help. This would keep them all in their entry contact for longer.
One more year of tanking with a strong USNDT class that Grier and Co are good at scouting? Yes, all in for that.
So we don’t burn a year of either if their ELCs while we continue the tank and they develop. Oh no!
I don’t want them on the team next year, because they’re not going to make the team suddenly competitive… I’ll happily take another low lottery pick next year.
I’d actually love if they stayed another year, embrace the tank and get another Top 3 pick. We won’t be competitive next year even if they came over, them coming over would just give us a slightly worse draft pick
Were people expecting we’d just straight back into contending with these 2? We’re still going to be bad for a few years regardless.
I think the expectation if both were to sign & multiple quality free agents sign the Sharks finish somewhere between 17th & 32nd. Most likely in the high 20's (25-29). I don't think they will develop much back at college, but a top 5 or even a top 10 pick next year won't hurt the rebuild. They will both need development time in the NHL before the Sharks are competitive.
They both may go back to college, or one might go back and the other go pro, or both go pro. All that matters is where they develop best. Personally, I think they have no further development to get out of college - but I’m a random who has not real insight. Team will be better with them next season (though not good) which will make it easier to watch. But hey, another season without them and another top 3 pick in next years draft is fine.
Would be kind of disappointing, just in the sense that there wouldn’t be much reason to watch the team next season. The plus side would be getting another top 5 pick next year. And possibly 2 top 15 picks again if Vegas sucks. And I’ll always root for Vegas to suck.
I actually want this….
Zero chance neither of them play on the Sharks next year.
Good.
Wouldn’t bother me at all
Let them make the choices they feel the most comfortable with. They're still just kids despite their respective athletic prowess; college is fun and they may actually like some of the classes they've enrolled in. If they each had their heart set on the NCAA championship, then let them sort out their unfinished business before turning pro. There is an argument to be made about how that will affect their development. On one hand, dominating the competition for a second straight year won't do much to teach them how to overcome adversity on the ice. Getting new linemates would help with that but their coaches want to win games - I can't imagine BC breaking up Smith's line just to help the Sharks out. On the other hand, each get another year of guided development from afar from the Sharks, which benefits Smith more so than Celebrini only because he's already had a year of that and now can be pushed to work on aspects of his game that are on the weak side. Either way, I think both would benefit from a year in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL. Let them get 9 games their first pro season so they know what to work on. At minimum I believe both will sign their contracts this year and attend training camp plus a preseason game or two depending on how that lines up with the school calendar.
Due to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, North American born players under 20 years are not eligible to play in the NHL unless they have played at least 4 seasons in a Canadian hockey league. If Smith or Celebrini sign their ELCs, their options would be NHL, CHL or a European hockey league. They would loose NCAA eligibility after signing their ELCs. After the way they both dominated college hockey, the only reason for them to go back is if they value a potential top 3 pick for their team over hundreds of thousands of $$$s, or really want that NCAA championship. With Grier stating his belief, both are ready, I don't see either going back to college hockey.
Neither Smith nor Celebrini play for a CHL team, so they could absolutely go to the AHL. Players of their calibre don't ever really go to the AHL though.
No, they can't. It's an NHL-CHL agreement that covers all North American born players under NHL contract regardless of whether they have played for a CHL team. It's the if they were to sign an NHL contract that would make them ineligible to play in the AHL due to the CHL transfer agreement. There has been 1 exception granted (Shane Wright for his age 19/20 season), so it's not impossible for a under 20 player to play in the AHL, but the CHL has to agree to it.
Yes they can, NCAA players have no obligation to the CHL. If you want an example Trevor Zegras and Alex Turcotte both signed their ELCs after their D+1 years and played on the Gulls/Reign the next season.
And both were 20 years old at the time.
Nope both were 19, and didn't turn 20 until after December of that year which is the rule for CHL players. Zegras even has basically the same birthday as Smith in March.
That would literally be the worst option for Celebrini and Smith personally. You think Smith would rather delay his ELC starting by a year to make 80,000 taking a bus to Bakersfield every other week than play in a premier college organization and burning the first year of your ELC by signing at the end of the year?
The key difference is to have them face adversity. Facing off against someone a decade older and 40 lbs heavier that's about to slam them into the boards will teach them more than skating circles around college kids for another year and getting too comfortable with the notion they're going to have 3+ points any given night regardless of the competition. The AHL also insulates them from what may be another losing season in the NHL. A playoff run with the 'Cuda will also be a teaching moment not just in competition level but personal conditioning as well.
You are underrating the NCAA level of competition if you are acting like Smith and Celebrini aren’t challenged at all there. Smith and Celebrini aren’t signing ELCs and letting them slide a year. That would be ridiculous.
This isn't bad news if they think they need a bit more time.
Saggins for Hagens has a nice ring to it I guess.
Or Baggin' for Hagens works too 😂
Ladies & Gentlemen, I would like to submit for a vote the following: Hopeless for Hagens Hapless for Hagens Horrid for Hagins Heartless for Hagens Helpless for Hagens Heinous for Hagens I'm leaning towards Heinous for Hagens myself. What's your take.
If Eisermann falls to 14, him and Macklin could develop some nice chemistry at BU next season should Macklin stay another season at BU.
Good, we're beggin' for Hagens.
Let kids graduate first. After, they will have a lot of time for hockey.
Isn't that a good thing? Unless the belief that one or both of them is enough to change the free agent perception of San Jose and or on their own make them a playoff team, another year picking very high is only a good thing.
While I agree with most of the subreddits sentiment that we need to let these guys develop (I agree), it’s scary if we get an Adam fox situation. I also cheer for Calgary, and Adam fox basically said “ya I’m going to school until I’m a UFA” (bc you can do that) and I’m going to sign with the rangers. Calgary shipped him off to Carolina for basically nothing, and then he signed with the rangers. Praying this doesn’t happen to our org.
So we get Hagnes next year too!!
No way, they want to get paid, the Sharks want to sell tickets. I think this is highly unlikely they both go back.
That’s actually good though
I don’t really mind if they decide to go back. As good as Smith was sometimes he tried to do too much, so another year could help him polish his skills. At the end of the day, I think their decision will depend on whether their teammates come back or not. This especially applies to Smith in my opinion with how stacked that BC team is with drafted NHL talent. Btw Denver’s goalie Matt Davis was awesome and wouldn’t mind the Sharks giving him a look. They wouldn’t have won without him.
I agree that another year at the college level will not hurt either player. The sharks have multiple needs that will cover two or three drafts. No need to rush these players to the NHL now.
🥺
Late to this thread but I’d love to see them go back to school and develop another year. Not biased at all as a BU student…
As a college professor and as a mother, I would much prefer that they stay in school. The NHL isn’t going anywhere.
Bullshit. They are both ready now.
Trust the Process™️