SHARKS 2023 NHL DRAFT RECAP: DAY 1

Jul 1, 2023

With the fourth overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Mike Grier and Director of Amateur Scouting Chris Morehouse selected center Will Smith.

"It's easy to notice and see Will's ability, his hockey sense and his skill set, but there's a lot of fire between his ears," said Morehouse. "When you get a chance to sit down with him and go through the process we have over the last couple of months really digging into his character, that's a huge part of it for us."

Smith, 18, played in 60 games for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team this season, recording 127 points (51 goals, 76 assists) which places him second on the NTDP's all-time single-season points list. Including the Under-18 Men's World Championship, Smith had more games with four or more points (10) than games with zero (eight). In 2021-22, in his first year with the program, he registered 64 points (31 goals, 33 assists) in 63 games split between the Under-17 and Under-18 teams. Smith completed his two-year NTDP career with 191 career points (82 goals, 109 assists), the second-most cumulative goals and points in program history.

In April, Smith helped lead the 2023 U.S. Men's Under-18 National Team to a Gold Medal at the Under-18 Men's World Championship after he led the tournament in goals (nine) and points (20). He scored at least one goal in six of seven games and he registered at least one point in every game on the United States' road to gold. The center's 20 points stand as the second-highest single-tournament total in the tournament's history. Smith was named tournament MVP, Best Forward, and to the Media All-Star Team. On June 27, Smith was named the recipient of the Bob Johnson Award for the 2022-23 season by USA Hockey, with the award recognizing "excellence in international hockey competition for a specific season of play."

The six-foot, 180-pound native of Lexington, Massachusetts is committed to play college hockey next season at Boston College (Hockey East).

With the 26th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Grier and Morehouse selected forward Quentin Musty.

"He has size, reach, he has skill level and he can score goals," said Morehouse. "Certainly, in the second half of the year he took off a bit in Sudbury."

Musty, 17, recorded 78 points (26 goals, 52 assists) in 53 games for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He led the club in assists and ranked second in both goals and points. Among first-time draft-eligible OHL skaters, the forward ranked first in assists and points-per-game (1.47) and second in points. Musty recorded an 18-game point streak from Oct. 29 through Dec. 28, totaling 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists). That would stand as the second-longest point streak in the OHL in 2022-23. He was named the OHL Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 28 through Dec. 4 after compiling nine points (two goals, seven assists) in two games, including a career-best seven-point night (one goal, six assists) on Dec. 4. He co-led Sudbury in playoff scoring with four points (one goal, three assists) in as many games.

In his OHL rookie year in 2021-22, Musty recorded 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 50 games, capturing OHL Second All-Rookie Team honors. He tallied two assists in his OHL debut on Oct. 8, 2021 and score his first OHL goal on Oct. 14. Prior to the season, Musty was the first overall selection in the 2021 OHL Draft.

Internationally, the six-foot-two, 200-pound native of Hamburg, New York represented the United States at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he was the team's leading scorer with five points (one goal, four assists) in four games.