Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association get to pick five players, ranked first to fifth, when they vote for the winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.

Sharks center Macklin Celebrini figures to be on every member’s ballot, perhaps right at the top considering the year he’s had so far. Defenseman Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf, a Gilroy native, will also get plenty of consideration for the award.

Sharks forward Will Smith won’t win the Calder and might not even be a top three finalist. But it seems safe to say the 19-year-old’s name will appear on plenty of ballots, especially considering his recent run.

After a tepid start to the season, Smith has been as productive in recent weeks as any NHL rookie, or any Sharks player, and has been a bright spot on a team that has won once in 14 games.

Smith had a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, and before Friday was tied for fourth among all rookies with 26 points. Celebrini has 42 pounds, two fewer than Hutson and Michkov, but has also played far fewer games due to his injury early in the season.

Going into tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators and starting with the Sharks’ Jan. 20 game in Boston, Smith now has 11 points in his last 12 games, matching him with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov for the most points among any first-year player in that time.

It’s also tops among all Sharks players, one more than Celebrini and three more than Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund.

In short, Smith is showing why he was the leading scorer in NCAA Division I hockey last season and the Sharks’ fourth-round pick in 2023.

Smith was part of an effective line with fellow winger Fabian Zetterlund and center Alexander Wennberg. On Thursday, per Natural Stat Trick, the trio out-chanced their opposition during 5-on-5 play 8-4, with high-danger chances being 4-0.

Smith’s goal, his ninth of the season, came off a set play at the 17:21 mark of the second period. After Wennberg won a faceoff in the Sharks zone, defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin took the puck and fired it off the boards up to Smith, who, along with Zetterlund, was already in the neutral zone to set up a 2-on-1.

While Zetterlund put himself in a position to receive the pass, Smith kept it and beat Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault with a shot just inside the far post.

“It was kind of a bouncing puck so I tried to settle it down,” Smith said. “I just saw an opening and I put it there.”

Thursday’s loss was the Sharks’ seventh straight. In five of those losses, the Sharks have been tied or ahead in the third period.

The Sharks will face a desperate Senators team that has lost five straight games and was four points out of a playoff spot as of Friday morning. The game could represent another chance for the Sharks to try and exhibit some growth, with Smith an increasingly likely candidate to be part of the solution.

When the Sharks hosted the Senators on Nov. 27, Smith had an assist and the game-tying goal late in the third period to help send the game into overtime. But the Sharks lost 4-3 on a goal by Senators forward Adam Gaudette.