SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is only one game into his rookie NHL season and is already having to deal with a significant injury.
In a potentially serious blow to the Sharks’ hopes of getting off to a better start this season, Celebrini on Saturday was placed on injured reserve and is now considered week to week with lower body ailment that will keep him out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time.
Celebrini will have to miss at least the next three games, starting with Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. But the Sharks could be without the 18-year-old wunderkind for much longer, as coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t want to put a timeline for when Celebrini might be able to play again.
“It’s a good learning moment for him, and life’s unfair at times,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini. “But I think he mentally, he’s good. He was in here today working, and it’s the game of hockey, right? There’s going to be injuries. I’m sure it won’t be his last injury and we’ve got to continue to move forward.”
Celebrini missed Friday’s practice with the lower body injury, but Warsofsky wouldn’t confirm whether it was related to the one that kept him out for part of the preseason. In an Oct. 1 game against the Utah Hockey Club, Celebrini aggravated a lower-body injury, left midway through the second period, and didn’t play in the Sharks’ final two exhibition games.
Upon his return in his NHL debut on Thursday, Celebrini flashed the traits that made him the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft. With a nonstop motor, skating and passing ability and compete level, Celebrini collected a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ 5-4, season-opening overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Celebrini’s points came on the first two Sharks goals of the season before a raucous crowd as San Jose built a three-goal lead over the St. Louis Blues in the second period. Celebrini scored the first goal of the Sharks’ season at the 7:01 mark of the third period and later assisted on a goal by Tyler Toffoli. The Sharks, though, allowed three goals in the third period and lost 5-4 to the Blues in overtime.
Toffoli, the Sharks’ top free agent signing this offseason, ahas played games with and without Celebrini so far and said, “It’s a totally different dynamic. He’s obviously already one of the best players on our team, if not the best. So he’s he’s going to be missed.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been on teams where we’ve lost our best player, one of our best players, for long periods of time, and it just gives other guys an opportunity to step up,” Toffoli continued, referencing his former Los Angeles Kings teammate Jeff Carter. “And we have a lot of guys that want to play more minutes and get more of an opportunity.”
The Sharks have gotten off to abysmal starts each of the last two years, going 0-5-0 to begin the 2022-23 season and 0-10-1 last season. Between 2022 and now, San Jose is carrying an 11-game losing streak (0-10-1) in the month of October into Saturday’s game.
In Friday’s practice, Mikael Granlund took Celebrini’s spot as the Sharks’ top-line center with Toffoli and William Eklund on the wings, and that line is expected to remain intact for Saturday’s game.
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