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Collin Graf's Stellar Play Earned His Sharks Recall; Happy To Be On Same Team As Celebrini & Smith

max miller
·3 min read

Collin Graf is second on the San Jose Barracuda in scoring with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists), and the strong start to the season has been rewarded with his first NHL call-up this season.

Fabian Zetterlund will be a game-time decision against the Philadelphia Flyers, which is the reason behind Graf's recall.

"They explained it to me just that [they are] not sure if I'm going to play," Graf said. "I'm just preparing like I'm going to play and see what happens."

Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said that Graf has earned this opportunity.

"At the end of the day, it's about earning call-ups and ice time. That's what the standard is going to be here," Warsofsky said. "Since Mike [Grier] came in we've really talked a lot about is you got to earn what you get. And I think Colin Graf has earned this call-up."

Graf has stepped up in many areas of his game, including adding the ability to be an effective penalty killer. He recently scored a shorthanded goal that was one against five.

"The biggest thing is pace of play. [I'm trying to play] faster. I think that's been the biggest thing I've worked on," Graf said. "I actually talked to my college coach about it. I was like, why didn't you choose me on the PK? He's like, Yeah, you know, I probably should have. That's been one big thing [that] I've tried to add things to my game. That's probably been the biggest add: going from no PK to PK a lot at the Barracuda."

Warsofsky said he would not hesitate to put Graf on the ice for a penalty kill.

If Graf enters the San Jose Sharks lineup, he could fill Fabian Zetterlund's role on the left wing with fellow NCAA products Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

"They're really exciting players to watch and are obviously really good. So it's exciting for sure," Graf said about Celebrini and Smith. "That'd be awesome [to play on the same line]. They're both really skilled players. They're both really good with the puck, so being able to play with them would be awesome."

When asked what it was like playing against them in the NCAA, Graf quickly responded with a smile and said, "Annoying."

"I think we didn't beat either of them. That's all I got to say about that one," Graf laughed.

If Graf enters the lineup tonight, he could be one of four top rookies in the NHL as Philadelphia boasts Matvei Michkov.

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