The San Jose Sharks are now 0-3-2 on the season following a 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. While Macklin Celebrini is out giving his thoughts on musicals, he is also preparing for a big matchup. The Sharks prepare to face 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer and the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Sharks' head coach Ryan Warsofsky shared some thoughts on Schaefer before the game.
“He’s pretty electric out there…There’s no panic in his game. When you think you have him pinned in the corner, next thing you know he’s leading the rush. [The Islanders] got a special one for a long time,” said Warsofsky, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday.
Schaefer was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. He has been off to an amazing start to the season, scoring points in each of his first five games. Schaefer has found the back of the net once this year while adding four assists. Still, his squad is just 2-3-0 on the year. During his five games, he has also faced multiple other No. 1 overall picks so far.
In the first game of the campaign, he faced off against all-time great Sidney Crosby, the top pick of the 2005 NHL Draft. He then faced Alex Ovechkin, the number one pick in 2004. Two games later, the Islanders faced the Edmonton Oilers, and Schaefer squared off against two No. 1 picks, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid.
This is slightly different. Not only is Celebrini a former first overall selection in the NHL Draft, but he was the top pick of the draft before Schaefer, being selected in 2024.
This is not the first time back-to-back number one picks have faced off. Crosby and Ovechkin played each other in November of 2005. It was actually both of their first years in the league after the 2004-05 season was canceled due to the NHL Lockout.
“It's special. It's something that when you come into the League, you hope it can be something that lasts a long time,” Crosby told NHL.com about facing another top overall pick in Ovechkin.
Hopefully, this is the first of many meetings between Celebrini and Schaefer; the two are scheduled to play again on March 7 in San Jose. Tuesday night's game at UBS Arena kicks off just past 7:00 p.m. ET.
