Celebrini quickly meets expectations in NHL debut with Sharks

SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini raised his arms and celebrated what he thought was linemate William Eklund’s goal.

The No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks soon found out differently.

“I was like, ‘Nice goal,’ and [Eklund] was like, ‘I didn’t score, you did,'” the center said to laughs after getting a goal and an assist in his NHL debut in San Jose’s 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center on Thursday.

“I mean, I thought he was just super excited that he scored but I guess he was happy for me.”

It wasn’t the ending the Sharks hoped for, but there still was plenty to be excited about, especially for Celebrini.

The 18-year-old became the youngest player in Sharks history to score in his NHL debut. He’s the first Sharks player to score in his first NHL game since forward Danil Gushchin did it April 1, 2023. He’s the second-fastest No. 1 pick to score a goal in his League debut. Mario Lemieux scored 2:59 into his first game with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 11, 1984.

At 18 years, 119 days, Celebrini is the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score in his debut, behind Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (18 years, 31 days) and former NHL forwards Eddie Olczyk (18 years, 56 days), Bobby Carpenter (18 years, 86 days), Dainius Zubrus (18 years, 111 days) and Rick Nash (18 years, 116 days).

“He did what everybody expected him to do,” said right wing Tyler Toffoli, whose first goal with the Sharks came off a Celebrini pass from behind the net at 17:14 of the first period.

“He made some really good plays. I think at the end of the day, he’s obviously got to be pumped personally for himself, but he wants to win and he’s like everybody else in here.”

Celebrini was attempting a spin-o-rama pass from the right circle to left wing Eklund, who was skating through the slot. The puck caromed off St. Louis defenseman Matthew Kessel’s leg and past goalie Joel Hofer’s glove side at 7:01 of the first period.

It was a night to celebrate the next generation of Sharks. Celebrini and center Will Smith, the No. 4 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft who also was making his NHL debut Thursday, took four laps together on the Sharks’ side of the ice before the rest of their teammates came out for warmups. The two also were the last Sharks to leave the ice at the end of warmups.

“I thought he was good. Thought he was really good,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Points is one thing. [There are] some things he needs to learn without the puck, him and Will, but I thought they were both solid in their debuts.”

Celebrini is the centerpiece of the rebuilding Sharks, who haven’t qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past five seasons. Prior to that, they went to the playoffs 14 times in 15 seasons from 2003-19. In 2016, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the only time in their history, losing to the Penguins in six games.

In 2019 they reached the Western Conference Final, where they lost to the Blues in six games. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs since.

Celebrini had 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games last season as a freshman at Boston University. At 17, he became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award, voted as the top men’s player in NCAA hockey.

The rookie is coming into this season highly touted. He certainly made the most of his first game.

“I think just the whole process going into it, all my teammates and going through it with 'Smitty' was really cool,” Celebrini said of what he’ll remember. “Just all of those memories, those plays, first shift, all that. The warmup, rookie lap. I tried to soak up as much as I could.”