(21) (she/her) feel free to send me asks, I love talking with y'all! autistic, persona enjoyer, sjs hockey (BEWARE - RPF), heated rivalry, kpop (mainly enhypen, OT7 forever), some politics & current events
If you want Mack to stop chasing the puck like a madman every shift he has, just hit will apparently đ (this is a joke!!! I am not putting that into the universe) but damn, dude just fully left the puck immediately
love my hockey mutuals. occasionally poetry snippets or kafka quotes will cross my dash tagged "san jose sharks" and i have to think well i didn't watch it so who am i to judge. maybe franz kafka did write that about the san jose sharks
yeah ik some of the comments in that video made me kinda sad đđ like yes itâs nice to see so many sharks fans (esp of the youtube comments demographic) say hell no weâre keeping will but likeâŚ. yall know he played at a 70 pt pace as a skills-heavy sophomore in the nhl right? yall know he was the second highest point producer despite missing like thirteen games right? yall know he is one of the highest performing forwards in the like the past three fucking draft classes, right??? đđđ
no exactly and whats killing me is that some of these people seem to think will has earned mack's respect because they make tiktoks together and have fun off the ice...? likeeee mack has bonded with will this much and respects him this deeply because he's a good hockey player first and foremost and everything else comes after that. mack would hate a will trade not just because they're best friends but because will is literally the second most skilled forward on the team đ and these are the dudes that hold mack up as this future captain and talk about how smart and driven he is and then completely fail to apply that understanding to how he evaluates the people around him. it's also one of my biggest gripes with warso's whole will lacks compete narrative. do you genuinely think macklin celebrini of all people would get this close to someone he viewed as careless or not passionate enough about hockey? be serious!!! mack respects the hell out of will because he sees the player he is
Ilya is so lucky that Shane proposed. Ilya would have been a nervous fucking wreck for the entire day beforehand. Wake up in the morning. Look in the mirror. Today's the day. Sob. Breathe. Okay I'm good! Turn around and Shane's hair is all in his face, still asleep on Ilya's pillow. I am NOT good. Cold shower. Breakfast that Ilya does not eat. Morning jog wherein Ilya runs like someone is chasing him. Lunch that Ilya does not eat. Drive out to the cottage. Make Shane pull over because Ilya needs to dry heave on the side of the road. "Baby we don't have to drive out today if you're not feeling well." "NO WE HAVE TO." Get to the cottage. Immediately send Shane on some kind of extended fool's errand. Shane wants to stay because Ilya is SHAKING and he is so worried. "No my love I'm fine it's just the breeze off the lake haha." It's thirty fuckig degrees Celsius. Shane finally gtfo's. Yuna, David, Rose FUCKING Landry all descend to help Ilya set up. Well. Ilya is supposed to be helping but he is standing on the deck fully dissociating. Yuna brings him tea. "Are you going to throw up the tea?" "Yes probably." Yuna takes away the tea. 800 electronic tea lights on the deck. In a parallel Ilya has no way of understanding, he both puts on and takes off a suit. Yuna fixes his curls into the hockey boy quasi-mullet that magnetizes Shane's fingers to Ilya's hair and says, "Oh, you're so handsome!" Ilya cries big fat tears. David tells a story about how his proposal to Yuna almost didn't happen because David went to the hospital for heart palpitations that morning. Thank You David That Does Not Help Even Remotely. Ilya slav squats on the lawn for twenty minutes. Shane's car pulls up in the driveway and everyone hides while Ilya vibrates in the entryway. Shane has no less than thirty grocery bags hanging from his arms, still complaining about why the grocery service cancelled their delivery last minute. Ilya leads Shane and all thirty of his grocery bags onto the deck. Shane is doing his favorite thing (bitching) and his second favorite thing (Follow Ilya) so he doesn't notice his own mother tiptoing behind him collecting the grocery bags he drops like breadcrumbs. There is an Oscar-winning actress hiding under his sofa and Shane does not notice because Ilya takes him on the deck and drops to his knees and Shane is like, "Haha, right now?" and then he sees that Ilya has a look on his face like he's just been told the sun is never coming up again and he has his hands on Shane's knees and he is saying, "Shane. Please?" and Shane puts his hands on his head and says "Oh my God baby what's happening to you" as Ilya melts and melts and then from the depths of the cottage someone who sounds a lot like Shane's very own father is whispering "The ring the ring" and when he looks back down Ilya is fumbling a ring box out of his pocket. The first picture of their proposal is Shane glaring into the middle distance with a hand cradling Ilya's curls like a baby while Ilya ugly sobs into his knee.
Do you ever think about how so much of the deadly anti-science rhetoric that fills America today and is killing countless vulnerable people can be directly traced back to one fucking guy who decided to just straight-up lie about vaccines causing autism because it would make him a profit? Do you ever think about that? Because I think about it a lot.
i love the âhollanov has a crush on carter vaughnâ take not necessarily in a âi think they would invite him to watchâ way but more in a âilya would accidentally let it slip while chirping at shane to fluster him that vaughn is at the top of their âwouldâ list and vaughn is a little thrown off and straight so heâs like âare you guys asking?â and ilya laughs and pats his shoulder and assures him âabsolutely not, i do not share my shane, we just think you are good looking man, i like that you are pretty and fun and my shane likes that you are serious about hockey and have good grooming habits. is not serious, do not worry vaughny we will not be asking you to witness me and my beautiful husband everâ and vaughn low key is overjoyed about it, his teammates who are around and hear the exchange are sometimes like âthat doesnt bother you? you dont find that a bit weird?â but vaugh genuinely is just like ârozanov just called me pretty and fun enough to hang out with and hollander thinks im good at hockey and clean enough for him, you could hand me a nobel peace prize and it wouldnt come close to this achievementâ and eventually it gets out to the general public so vaughn is captioning his instagram posts shit like â#1 contender for being the hockey husbands third goes fishingâ despite shanes mortification about this getting out and vaughns clear delight with itâ way
ilya rozanov whoâs known to boston as the mysterious fuckboy from russia who chirps like heâs getting paid for it and is crazy good at hockey. one day a teammate is absent from a few games in a row and turns back up to practice with a fucking newborn and theyâre all in their hockey gear fawning over this tiny baby. then once everyoneâs said hi before practice, the crowd parts and ilyas just stood by the doorway, a literal deer in headlights staring at the bundle of blankets in his teammates arms and-
âdo you wanna hold him?â
ilyaâs moving forward before he can process the words and everyoneâs holding their breath as he gathers the newborn into his arms, pausing to take his gloves off first. itâs a few tense seconds before the baby babbles and shifts slightly before tucking his head into the crook of his arm and swiftly falling to sleep.
ilya looks up to see his whole team stifling grins, âi think weâve found the new babysitterâ and he bites back a chirp because he doesnât want to wake the baby heâs holding so delicately to his chest.
heâs stuck on the sidelines for the whole practice while he rocks the baby through the slams against walls, waving its little arm towards its dad when it eventually wakes up.
and yeah pictures surface soon after of fucking rozanov staring down at the baby in his arms with the fucking softest eyes and twitter has a field day proving heâs a softie at heart
shane sees the photos and had feelings that send him into the most intense panic attack of all time. the thought stays hidden in the back of his mind until heâs laying in his bed, at the cottage, with ilya draped over him and both of them are whispering i love you in every language they know and then the image crawls out of the recesses where he shoved it and holy fuck that might be possible one day holy fuck
I read your takes on McKenna and honestly i agree, he kinda feels like a version of Will but with a way higher offensive ceiling. It actually got me curious though, what do you think about Smithâs development so far, and what kind of player do you expect him to become?
And donât get me wrong, iâm not saying heâs gonna be a bust or anything. But if the sharks are actually serious about pushing for the playoffs next season, heâs gotta take a pretty big step forward, especially playing on the first line with Mack. Plus we all know Warso has lowkey called him out publicly already lol.
Honestly compared to the rest of his draft class, heâs doing totally fine, even pretty good. Itâs just that because the sharks have Mack, peopleâs expectations are naturally way higher. I donât really think itâs fair to compare every young playerâs development to Mack because realistically nobodyâs gonna look as good as him, maybe not even Misa. But at the same time, i think sharks fans would be lying if they said they donât subconsciously compare the other guys to Macklin.
Ok first of all I love this ask! Sorry for the delay, I wanted to really dig in with this one & I haven't had time.
So for starters, I wanted to say that I do really like McKenna as a player. Like he's so pretty to watch, silky mitts, crazy vision. I know he's dealt with a lot of noise over the past year especially & I hope Toronto is prepared to insulate him from that a bit. I hope he can billet with a current player & get eased into the NHL, and that they don't throw him to the wolves. And I hope fans have realistic rookie expectations for him.
Okay so moving on to a not-so-little essay I'm calling "In Defense of Will Smith-Hockey":
(More after the cut)
You hit the nail on the head about the critique for Will. I feel he's above-average with his development after just two seasons in the NHL, but with Macklin playing the way he is Will is always going to come out looking like he's behind. I see the comparisons to Mack with ALL rookies right now, this totally unrealistic expectation that they can all get over 100 points in their second season. Mack is not normal lol. He's an anomaly. I know people love to throw around the term "generational talent" but he is ACTUALLY a generational talent.
So Will of course gets it worse than anyone because the weaknesses in his game are so magnified with Mack right there. Also, he's over a year older than Mack. Even though they played in the USHL at the same time, were freshmen in college at the same time, started in the NHL at the same time, there's this expectation that Will should be further along because he's older. You never heard "20 year old Will Smith". Like, EVER.
So here's the thing about Will. Before he was drafted, every scout said the exact same thing: he's an offensive phenom, outstanding on the power play, very high hockey IQ. But they also had the same critiques: his skating needed to improve, he had to get bigger/stronger/faster & his play off the puck was lacking.
So this is not some new aspect of Will's play. After the draft he worked on his skating & put on some weight. But just like at the NTDP, in college he was still called on more for his offensive skill than he was for his two-way play. Which is totally common at that age & at the NCAA. Just like McKenna, he'd spent most of his time developing his offensive play (because let's face it, pretty plays LOOK cool & get on highlight reels) but not as much time worrying about defense. (I also think being on a line pretty much exclusively with Gabe & Leno for 3 years set them ALL back developmentally, but that's a different post.)
Here's another hot take. Will should never have played center. He was probably put there because he's smart, but with his skill sets he is WAY more suited as a winger. I firmly believe this is the best place for him. But he's still learning this new role. He has different responsibilities at wing than he did at center, and it takes time to adjust.
I do think his injury was rough for him & it set him back. I think he was shaken up & wanted to get hit even less than he did before. I think his shot was weaker afterwards & he was more likely to dump the puck if it meant he could avoid a hit. But he did start to try. I saw the effort towards the end of this season, a few good checks against the boards, a few more puck battles, more speed & determination to stick with a play until the end.
His stats have improved since last season, no doubt about it. 59 points is solid, up 15 points from his rookie year after playing 5 games less. His +/- went from a -15 to a +1. One of the more interesting stats is his play in high-danger areas, which is one of the best in the league at 16th. He's also playing much better in 5v5 than most people would expect, like his goals aren't just coming from power plays.
So yeah, I'm a HUGE fan of Will Smith. I don't know if people realise just how elite his vision is. He's reading the ice in real time, processing at a wayyyy faster pace than most players can and finding/ creating open ice in really unique ways. And these skills can't really be taught. You either have them or you don't. He can and will get stronger. He can and will get better at playing wing. He can and will get more responsible off the puck.
Will has cited Patrick Kane as someone he admires & tries to emulate. (Side note, Kane is famously a RH winger lol.) And he's not there yet, but I do see the similarities. Kane is so good offensively that he's also not known as a defensive-minded skater. Kane also has elite vision & makes gorgeous plays. Kane also shines when he has insane chemistry with a partner.
Which brings me to Mack, who has been compared to Jonathan Toews. (The similarities are actually insane, I'll probably do another post about this in the future.) Kane & Toews came into the NHL at the same time as rookies and played together for 16 YEARS on the Blackhawks. They won 3 Stanley Cups together. They are one of the greatest hockey duos of all time. They remain close friends to this day.
THIS is what Will & Mack envision. THIS was their idea from the start. They are actively positioning themselves as the next great hockey duo. And the crazy thing is, I think it's actually going to happen. They see the ice the same way, and they have the skill & creativity to pull off some truly impressive plays. Mack plays best with fellow elite players, and Will plays best with people he knows well & can predict. Mack is a combination of Leno & Gabe, so Will knows exactly how to play with him. Their friendship truly is creating better chemistry on the ice, anyone with eyes can see that.
The interesting thing about the NHL right now is it's trending younger, faster & flashier. Fans want to see special plays, killer passes that connect for highlight-reel worthy goals. I think, if you asked most fans, they'd rather watch a fun, high-speed, high-scoring 6-5 game that mmmmaybe isn't perfect than a slow & steady 2-1 victory that's textbook hockey.
Yes, Will sometimes goes for the more dangerous play because it's more interesting, and sometimes it ends badly. But you know what? It's not boring. So maybe he'll never have a true two-way game, not like Mack. But you know what? If he stays a fun & dynamic player who consistently puts up points & creates scoring opportunities for his line, does it really matter? Will & Mack put fans in seats. The Sharks should build the team around them. And I see those building blocks being put into place. A power forward to help them get more space & time, hopefully some solid defensemen to help out when things go awry, a consistent goalkeeper.
I don't think Will has even come close to hitting his ceiling. Not to say it's certain that he will, but I believe he can. I think he's way more competitive & cares way more about improving his game than people give him credit for. My prediction for him next season (assuming the Sharks give them some better defensive help) is 30+ goals and 80+ points. But if you told me it was 40+ goals and 100+ points I wouldn't be shocked. I think he's about to hit his groove.
Thanks for the ask, hope you enjoyed this dissertation lol.
God. âWeâre just more comfortable with each other.â Oh and i said iâm sure. Everyone read this article now. https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/will-smith-stats/1931367/?partner=yahoo&=1
San Jose Sharks star Will Smith is a much better player than he was in his rookie year.
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