SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini made more progress Tuesday from an undisclosed ailment, but will need to go through at least one full-contact practice before he can play in one of the team’s final preseason games.
Celebrini, who came down with an illness at the start of training camp, practiced in a non-contact orange jersey on Tuesday morning and took part in a team-wide scrimmage.
Celebrini is slated to practice again on Wednesday, and if he can get through that without any contact restrictions, it would open the door for him to play in one of the Sharks’ final two preseason games.
“I feel good with where I’m at right now,” said Celebrini, who said he’ll be ready for the Sharks’ regular season opener on Oct. 9 at home against the Vegas Golden Knights. “It’s been a full summer of work, so I think it’s just getting ready for what’s coming.”
While Celebrini will likely not be available to play on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center, he appears to be on track to dress for at least one of the Sharks’ final two preseason games. San Jose travels to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and the Utah Mammoth on Saturday.
“It was a good day,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said when asked about Celebrini. “We’ll see how he progresses, and I’ll check with the training staff. But it was a good day.”
For Tuesday’s practice, Warsofsky moved Philipp Kurashev to left wing alongside Celebrini and Will Smith. The versatile Kurashev, who spent some time alongside Connor Bedard the last two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, had played center for most of training camp.
Kurashev won four of 12 faceoffs and had two shots on net in close to 17 minutes of ice time in the Sharks’ 3-2 loss to the Ducks on Monday in Anaheim.
Warsofsky said he’s taking a look at some options with only a few days left in camp.
“I liked (Kurashev’s) game,” Warsofsky said. “Competed hard, and I think he and (Celebrini) can complement each other pretty well. I thought (Smith), that might have been his best day today through training camp, so that was a step in the right direction.
“We’ve got to start some building chemistry. If you look at it, we’re limited with practice time going forward. So every time we’re on the ice, every time we’re (doing video work), we’ve got to get going here.”
The Sharks are scheduled to take a team day off on Thursday and practice on Friday in San Jose before they fly to Las Vegas.