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Macklin Celebrini made sure the fans at SAP Center got their money's worth in his electric NHL debut on Thursday night — but they'll have to wait a little longer to watch the San Jose Sharks' star rookie next. The 18-year-old was placed on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury, the team announced.
That means he'll be on IR for a minimum of seven days, retroactive to Thursday. The North Vancouver native will miss games against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and Dallas Stars on Tuesday; he could return as soon as Thursday night's tilt against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
He has officially been designated as week-to-week, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.
In a corresponding move, the Sharks recalled defenseman Jack Thompson from the American Hockey League's San Jose Barracuda.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft missed practice on Friday, with head coach Ryan Warsofsky confirming it was a lower-body ailment and that Celebrini was in the process of being evaluated.
A timetable on the rookie's return to the ice is not yet known. It's a disappointing update for both the Sharks and the hockey world, especially after Celebrini's exhilarating debut on Thursday.
Macklin Celebrini dazzled for Sharks in NHL debut
Celebrini wasted no time getting the fans on their feet in his debut, scoring his first National Hockey League goal just seven minutes into the first period. He would add a slick assist on Tyler Toffoli's tally late in the frame as the Sharks opened up a 2-1 lead.
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That lead became 4-1 following goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Barclay Goodrow. The Blues would end up somewhat spoiling Celebrini's impressive debut, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period and winning 5-4 on a Brayden Schenn marker in overtime.
NO. 1 PICK MACKLIN CELEBRINI WITH HIS FIRST NHL GOAL 🤩 pic.twitter.com/YEQ7LWQ3ZP
— ESPN (@espn) October 11, 2024
Still, it was an encouraging debut for Celebrini, who looked excellent in his first regular-season game.
“I think just the whole process going into it, all my teammates and going through it with [Will Smith] was really cool,” Celebrini said after his debut. “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.”
“I mean, there’s obviously pressure, but I think we also look at it as an opportunity,” former No. 4 overall pick Smith echoed, per NHL.com. “Everyone talks about the Shark Tank and how unbelievable it was. That’s our goal, to get it back like that.”
The hope is that Celebrini can recover from the injury in a timely fashion and help the Sharks string together a couple wins early on. They'll start adjusting to life without him when puck drops against the Ducks just past 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
