SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks forward Will Smith took another step toward a return to the active roster as he joined the team for its practice at SAP Center on Friday afternoon while wearing an orange non-contact jersey.
Smith has been skating away from the team in recent days, but Friday marked the first time he joined the team for a practice, as he took occasional line rushes alongside Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund and was part of the penalty killing team during power play drills. Igor Chernyshov also took line rushes with Celebrini and Eklund.
Smith would likely need to complete a full practice with contact before he can play in a game.
Smith sustained an upper-body injury in the Sharks’ Dec. 13 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on a hard hit against the boards by defensemen Jeremy Wotherspoon. He and Philipp Kurashev, who also suffered an upper-body injury in that game, were placed on injured reserve two days later.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said recently that Smith and Kurashev would both be back before the start of the Olympic break. Kurashev did not practice with the Sharks on Friday.
Defenseman John Klingberg, who was placed on IR on Monday with a lower-body issue, also practiced Friday and is eligible to play this weekend when the Sharks host the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Celebrini and Smith before practice pic.twitter.com/SsPvrJ5Ieg
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) January 9, 2026
Two other injured Sharks defensemen, Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin, did not practice on Friday.
Rookie center Michael Misa also took part in his first practice with the Sharks since he returned to San Jose earlier this week after competing for Canada at the World Junior championships. During line rushes, he took turns with Ryan Reaves, skating on the fourth line with Zack Ostapchuk and Barclay Goodrow.
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