SAN JOSE — Macklin Celebrini came as advertised in his first NHL preseason game for the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
Celebrini had a goal and an assist, both on the power play, always seemed to be around the puck, and looked dangerous on almost every shift in the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights before an announced crowd of 9,049 at SAP Center.
“It was amazing. I mean, it wasn’t sold out, but it’s definitely loud and you could hear the fans that were in the building,” Celebrini said. “So that was cool to hear.”
Celebrini’s goal came at the 6:33 mark of the third period as he one-timed a pass from defenseman Luca Cagnoni past Golden Knights goalie Isaiah Saville from near the faceoff dot.
Just 1:24 later, Celebrini, in a similar spot on the ice while San Jose had the man advantage, sent a no-look pass to the front of the Vegas net that winger Tyler Toffoli tapped in past Saville.
Celebrini had two shots on goal and finished with over 18 minutes in ice time against the Golden Knights. And while it was just a preseason game, the 18-year-old showed off bursts of speed and the nonstop motor that made him the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NHL Draft.
In doing so, he gave the Sharks and their fans some reason to believe in the team’s long-term outlook after five non-playoff seasons.
“You saw tonight the things that he can do, not only score goals and the pass that he made to me, but I thought he did a really good job of staying low in the D zone and being really responsible,” Toffoli said of Celebrini. “It’s only one game, but he’s been great all the way through at camp so far.”
Sunday’s game was the first of six the Sharks will play in the preseason before they open the regular season at home against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10.
Celebrini might not play that night as other players in camp get an audition. But he certainly gave the sparse crowd in attendance reason to think some better days for the Sharks franchise might not be too far off.
“You can feel that energy in the building, right? The fans are getting excited,” Warsofsky said. “Obviously, he scores a big goal in the power play. You’ve seen that goal quite a bit back at (Boston University). Those are game-breaking moments.
“If you want to be a really, really good player, a superstar player in this league, those guys do those things. You look across the NHL, there’s those types of players. And I think he’s on his way to being one of those guys, but obviously, he has some things to work on.”
Celebrini centered a line against the Golden Knights with wingers Toffoli and Klim Kostin. The three were also together during the first three days of camp, and Celebrini and Toffoli could also start the regular season on the Sharks’ top line.
“The more you play with someone, you figure out their tendencies and it gets easier to play with them and read off them,” Celebrini said of developing chemistry with Toffoli. “I don’t know if we’re like the Sedin brothers (Daniel and Henrik) yet, but hopefully we can get there.”
Toffoli had 33 goals between his time with the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets last season. That total would have easily led the offensively starved Sharks in 2023-24, as Fabian Zetterlund led San Jose with 24 goals, followed by William Eklund and Anthony Duclair with 16 each. Duclair, a pending unrestricted free agent last season, was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in March.
The Sharks’ 2.20 goals per game average last season was second lowest in the NHL. Toffoli, who has 280 career goals, and Celebrini might be counted on to do a lot of heavy lifting offensively.
Still, the Sharks feel with their roster changes, they should have a more balanced lineup.
Celebrini played on the first unit Sunday with Toffoli, Cagnoni, Eklund, and Mikael Granlund. The Sharks had Henry Thrun, Kostin, Collin Graf, Quentin Musty, and Jack Thompson on the second unit.
Toffoli, Granlund, Eklund, and Celebrini all figure to be part of the Sharks’ power play this season, either on the first or second units. Last season, San Jose ranked 21st on the man advantage in the NHL at 20.2%.
The Sharks brought back assistant coach Brian Wiseman to once again coordinate the power play.
“It’s like any system,” said Celebrini, who scored a power-play goal for the Sharks in his one game at the seven-team Rookie Faceoff event in El Segundo earlier this month. “It’s tough when you don’t get many touches on it or practice it much. But the more reps we get, the more comfortable we’ll be with each other.”
LEADERSHIP ANNOUNCED: The Sharks will have five alternate captains this season as they officially announced their leadership group.
General manager Mike Grier confirmed at the start of training camp that center Logan Couture would remain the Sharks’ captain for a sixth-straight season. Defenseman Mario Ferraro will be a full-time alternate captain.
Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow will serve as alternate captains for home games, and Granlund and Luke Kunin serve as alternate captains for all road games.
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