The NHL’s San Jose Sharks announced Tuesday that the club has signed Boston College freshman forward Will Smith to a standard entry-level contract.
“Will is a dynamic and exciting young center and we are thrilled to have him join the organization after an impressive season with Boston College,” said Sharks GM Mike Grier in a statement. “We felt that this is the next best step for his development to becoming a full-time NHL player, and we are looking forward to seeing him compete at the highest level of hockey.”
Smith led the nation with 71 points and 46 assists and finished tied for sixth in the country with 25 goals in 41 games. He was integral to Boston College in the Hockey East tournament, scoring 10 points across three games – nine of which came in the final two games. Smith registered a five-point, four-goal game in the Hockey East final to capture the conference championship. He became the first player to score four goals in the title game, and the first freshman to score at least three in the championship deciding contest. Smith later helped lead BC to the NCAA championship game against Denver, scoring four points (two goals, two assists) in four tournament games.
By the end of the season, Smith set a new BC program record for points and assists by a freshman and scored the fifth-most goals among first-years. His 45 assists rank tied for third all-time in a season for the college and his 71 points is the 10th best in the program’s history. He was the first skater for Boston College to reach 70 points since Johnny Gaudreau (80) did so in the 2013-14 year.
Smith earned a variety of accolades in his first collegiate campaign, highlighted by being named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist, earning a spot on the Frozen Four all-tournament team and taking Hockey East all-tournament MVP honors. Smith also was named an AHCA first team East All-American and earned a spot on the Hockey East first all-star team following the regular season.
Internationally, he represented Team USA at the 2024 World Championship and also appeared at the 2024 World Junior Championship with the Americans, where he helped lead the team to a gold medal. He posted nine points (four goals, five assists) in the tournament, finishing with a pair of assists in the championship game against host Sweden. Smith found the score sheet in each of the final six games of the tournament and completed the competition tied for fourth on the team in scoring.
Smith, a native of Lexington, Mass., was selected by San Jose in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
