SAN JOSE – It’s all starting to hit home for top San Jose Sharks prospect Macklin Celebrini: his NHL career is about to get underway.
The 18-year-old Celebrini and fellow Sharks prospects Will Smith and Shakir Mukhamadullin took part in the NHLPA’s Rookie Showcase in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday. Celebrini skated in pads with the Sharks’ uniform for the first time and posed for his first hockey card.
“It was awesome,” Celebrini told reporters at MedStar Capitals Iceplex of the uniform. “It’s the first time I’ve been in gear with it, and I will see my name on the back. It’s pretty cool.”
What also is cool for Celebrini is that he’ll be living with Sharks legend Joe Thornton in his first season as a professional. Inside the glitzy Sphere in Las Vegas in June, Thornton introduced the Sharks’ first overall selection of Celebrini at the NHL Draft, and the two have had a chance to get to know each other.
It’s not unusual for an NHL rookie, particularly a teenager, to live with a veteran as they begin their professional careers. Patrick Marleau, who turned 18 after being drafted second overall by the Sharks in 1997, lived with goalie Kelly Hrudey and his family during his 1997-98 rookie season.
While the Celebrini family has a home in the East Bay, Macklin’s dad, Rick Celebrini, said earlier this summer that living with an NHL veteran would have its benefits.
Rick Celebrini spoke with Thornton, who will have his number 19 retired by the Sharks at SAP Center on Nov. 23, at the draft, and Thornton, the first overall pick in 1997, just ahead of Marleau, knows what Macklin is about to go through.
“I think that’s a great transition,” said Celebrini, the Warriors’ vice president of player health and performance, after Macklin was drafted. “Typically if those veteran players take them in, there’s a guidance that’s part of that. If they’ve had a tough game or the team’s had a tough streak, they can kind of comfort them and give them confidence that it’s going to be OK.”
Macklin Celebrini getting shot for his first hockey card. Said he’ll be living with Joe Thornton and his family in San Jose this season. pic.twitter.com/QE7W7dGBvd
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) September 4, 2024
Macklin Celebrini said he has binders full of hockey cards, including one of Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr. He also traded ones with his older brother, Vancouver Canucks prospect Aiden Celebrini, and soon he’ll have his own, which figures to become a collector’s item after he was selected as the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award earlier this year.
“Growing up, I’ve always collected hockey cards, opened packs,” he said. “So to have my own hockey card, it’s going to be really cool.”
Celebrini said he’s enjoyed having an entire offseason to train after he spent last summer recovering from shoulder surgery.
“I feel like I got a little bit stronger this offseason, which I didn’t have an opportunity to do the year before,” Celebrini said. “I feel like just I’ve worked on all areas, and I feel like I’ve improved.”
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Celebrini, Smith, Mukhamadullin, and other Sharks prospects will participate in the Rookie Faceoff next week in El Segundo. The Sharks will play Utah on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m., Anaheim on Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m., and Colorado on Sept. 16 at 11:30 a.m.
Those players will then turn their attention to the Sharks’ main training camp, which begins on Sept. 19 at the team’s practice facility in San Jose. The Sharks’ season-opener is Oct. 10 at home against the St. Louis Blues.
“This whole summer, it’s been all lead-up to the season,” Celebrini said. “This (NHLPA) stuff is good. But that’s the real fun and that’s what we’re looking forward to. It’s all excitement, and we can’t wait to actually get going here.”