Macklin Celebrini is just weeks away from his first National Hockey League training camp with the San Jose Sharks — and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft is ready to help turn the club into a contender.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” the 18-year-old phenom said at the Hobey Baker Memorial Golf Tournament in Lake Elmo, MN on Thursday, according to NHL.com's Jessi Pierce. “I was actually thinking about their prospect pool and how they made those additions, and how great of players those guys are. And the people they have in the front office, I couldn’t be more excited.”
The reigning Hobey Baker winner added: “It’s my first training camp, so there’s definitely a lot of nerves and a lot of excitement as well. I feel like [the Sharks] are really going in the right direction and I’m just excited for what the future holds.”
The Sharks have struggled mightily since losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final and St. Louis Blues in the 2019 West Final. San Jose has failed to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in any of the last five seasons.
The team was especially miserable in 2023-24, winning just 19 games and finishing dead last in National Hockey League standings. But with Celebrini now part of the equation, as well as a young core that also features Will Smith, Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund, among others, there's faith in California that this roster can go back to competing for championships soon.
And Celebrini is already being considered the frontrunner to win the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Macklin Celebrini already an early Calder Trophy favorite
Celebrini ripped up NCAA hockey with the Boston University Terriers, scoring a ridiculous 32 goals and 64 points in just 38 games. He was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, and will link up with Smith next season, who was selected No. 4 overall by the Sharks in 2023.
“We met up at development camp and he’s great,” Celebrini said, per Pierce. “He’s a great guy and we got along very well. It’s going to be fun together. We both have the same goals and that is just to help take this team and organization as far as we can, so that’s going to be great.”
Smith was also lights out while playing for Boston College last year, leading the NCAA with 25 goals and 71 points as an Eagle. There's a chance the two could start the season on the top line, with Celebrini anchoring the unit and Smith and veteran Tyler Toffoli on the wings.
And despite San Jose's current mediocrity, the future superstar has the right attitude ahead of his first training camp.
“You never really think about failing before you even start,” Celebrini told Pierce. “I mean, we’re going to try to win as many games as possible. You never want to go into a season thinking that you’re going to lose games. I feel like that’s the mindset we’re going to have. We have the group to do it, and we’ve made some great offseason moves.”
It will be intriguing to see how much better the Sharks are in 2024-25, and whether Celebrini can follow in Connor Bedard's footsteps and win the Calder Trophy next summer.
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