San Jose Sharks star young forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith stayed on the ice 45 minutes after their practice group got off the ice.
The Sharks had a tough practice on Thursday. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky started with some special teams work before moving into heavier skating drills.
The group on the ice was also heavily skated following a center ice area game, with the losing side skated slightly more. Smith and Celebrini were on the losing side, but that didn’t deter them from staying on the ice.
“Those guys are, from a work standpoint, they really drive the bus. They want to be on the ice as much as possible. They want to get better,” Warsofsky said. “We have a really driven group right now. Just seeing it evolve here, we’re driven to get this thing going and start winning some hockey games. Start improving as hockey players, individually and as a group. That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
William Eklund and Adam Gaudette stayed for the first part of the extra ice time, but left partway through. That left Celebrini, Smith, and skills coach Mike Ricci to work even more on their one-timers.
“We like staying out, just working on little shooting [from the] flank stuff,” Smith said.
Both players were positioned on their respective one-timer flanks during the power-play drill.
“You don’t want to be too static on a power play,” Smith explained. “I think the best ones are ones that can move around, and guys can fill in a different spot. It is still super early. It is only the second day working on it, so we’re trying to get a feel for it.”
Top San Jose Sharks defense prospect Sam Dickinson has been manning the point for the top power play unit in practice. John Klingberg hasn’t skated with the team for the last two days due to an upper-body injury.
Dickinson, a left-handed player, brings a change from Klingberg, a right-handed player, to the power play.
“You saw with us last year. It’s his first year, second camp. He’s still trying to get used to it, just like I had and still getting used to,” Smith said. “A lefty up there can be a little different for a guy like me or Mack, [than] if it’s a righty. You try to get used to [whether] it’s a left or right. It’s all stuff you try to look at during camp.”
The Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights in their second preseason game at SAP Center on Friday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.
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