Sharks rookie Celebrini enjoying challenges of first NHL season

Macklin Celebrini grabbed a glove full of pucks.

The horn had just sounded to end warm-ups at Scotiabank Arena. The ice crew patiently waited as the San Jose Sharks rookie collected his haul and divided the souvenirs between a group of fans pressed along the glass.

"It's a lot of fun," Celebrini said earlier in the day of his first twirl around the NHL. "Hockey becomes your life."

The No. 1 selection at the 2024 draft has impressed in his first professional campaign, sitting near the top of the freshman scoring race despite missing 12 games earlier in the schedule because of injury.

And despite a number of difficult nights for a last-place franchise torn down to the studs and in full rebuild mode, the 18-year-old centre is living the dream.

"Everything you do is getting ready for the next game or next practice," Celebrini added. "I mean, personally, I love that." 

The Sharks, meanwhile, love what they have in the North Vancouver, B.C., product.

"He's handled everything," said rookie head coach Ryan Warsofsky. "He's a mature kid, a competitor. I don't think any moment is too big for him."

Celebrini has 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in 51 games as he's navigated all that comes with being the top pick.

A big media contingent greeted him in Montreal before facing the Canadiens last week. More obligations awaited in Toronto ahead of Monday's game against the Maple Leafs.

"Mac does a really good job of harnessing those expectations and the pressures," Warsofsky added. "Not getting too wrapped up in where he went as a No. 1 overall pick."

Sharks forward Nico Sturm said it's "extraordinary" to watch Celebrini handle what's on his plate.

"Hard to imagine what went through his head the whole summer and going into the season," said the 29-year-old. "He's way ahead of where a player at his age should be in terms of how he approaches the game, how mature he is, how he prepares. 

"He's going to be one of the best players in the league. It's exciting for us as an organization."

San Jose defenceman Mario Ferraro said the six-foot, 190-pound Celebrini's approach to his craft is impressive.

"At the same time, he knows when he can have some fun," said the 26-year-old. "That's part of being a team, it's part of growing the culture here. He knows when and when not to turn it on."

Celebrini, who last season became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top talent in NCAA men's hockey, has been shouldering big minutes on a club that has another peach-fuzzed forward in Will Smith. Warsofsky hopes someday there are similarities in what San Jose's dynamic duo and a number of other future stars endured early in their careers.

"You're not gonna just show up in the National Hockey League and end up in the Stanley Cup final," said the 37-year-old coach. "You gotta go through some adversity."

San Jose (17-37-9) has seen plenty of that in 2024-25. The Sharks started 0-7-2 — Celebrini was largely out injured — before a subsequent 0-8-1 stretch and a recent 2-14-3 run that ended this week with back-to-back victories over the Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.

"I don't think anyone likes losing," Celebrini said. "We're in a tough spot right now, but we're just trying to stay positive."

One massive positive would be getting Celebrini the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. Montreal defenceman Lane Hutson — his Boston University teammate — and Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov are also in the conversation, but San Jose's talisman is the current betting favourite.

Celebrini isn't focused on that race. The nod, however, would be a big boost to a franchise looking for hope and signs of progress.

"That's the human element of this game," Warsofsky said. "It would be great for the organization."

And great for a player still finding his footing.

"Never accepting the losing," Celebrini said of the Sharks' mindset down the stretch. "We have different goals as a team that we're pushing toward … building for the future."

RISING HUTSON

The Canadiens blueliner picked up two assists this week to give him 50 points through 63 career games stretching back to the end of last season.

The 21-year-old Hutson overtook Chris Chelios (66 games played) as the fastest defenceman to record 50 career points in franchise history. 

DEADLINE LOOMING

The NHL trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. ET Friday, but it's hard to know which general managers will be buyers and which will be sellers with so many teams still in the playoff conversation.

Heading into Wednesday night's action, six points separated the first wild-card spot and the No. 14 seed in the Eastern Conference. The situation was a little less murky out West, but four points were all that stood between the second wild-card berth and 11th in the standings. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton's weekly NHL notebook is published every Wednesday.