Sharks’ Will Smith out week-to-week with upper-body injury

The San Jose Sharks will remain without forward Will Smith on a week-to-week basis as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury sustained earlier this month, according to head coach Ryan Warsofsky.

Smith, 20, has been sidelined since being injured in the third period of the Sharks’ 6-5 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 13. The Sharks placed both Smith and Philipp Kurashev on injured reserve after that game.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Warsofsky declined to address any further specifics of Smith’s injury but noted that the Boston product is “making steps daily to getting better.”

“[Smith] is gonna be out week to week,” Warsofsky told Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest, among others, on Monday. “I think we’re gonna re-evaluate him in the new year.”

The Sharks originally selected Smith with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. After spending his first post-draft season at Boston College, Smith debuted with the Sharks in the 2024-25 season and has been a fixture at the top of their forward lineup ever since.

Smith did not record a point in the win over Pittsburgh in which he was injured but still has 12 goals and 29 points through 33 games with the Sharks this season. The 6’0″, 180-pound forward recorded 45 points in 74 games as a rookie with the Sharks last year and developed strong chemistry with fellow first-year Macklin Celebrini along the way.

Led primarily by Celebrini and Smith, the Sharks have emerged as one of the NHL’s most improved teams to begin the 2025-26 season. They currently sit just two points outside the Western Conference playoff picture with a 17-16-3 record through 36 games; they already have 37 points, putting them only 15 back of matching their total from last year.