SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini didn't take long to make an impact for the San Jose Sharks.
The 18-year-old rookie scored San Jose's first goal of the season and added an assist in his first period as a pro Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues, signifying a brighter future ahead for a franchise that has been in the doldrums the last five years.
“It was awesome,” Celebrini said. “It’s everything I thought it would be for my first game. It was an amazing experience and I'll cherish it for the rest of my life.”
The happy beginning had a sad ending for San Jose as the Sharks blew a 4-1 lead in the third period and lost 5-4 in overtime.
Celebrini's first career goal came on his third career shift and was a fortunate one. The former Boston University star came in on a rush and did a spin-o-rama near the boards before trying a centering pass to William Eklund that hit defenseman Matt Kessel's skate and went past Joel Hofer at the 7:01 mark.
“I just tried to fake up and then just throw one to the middle and see if he could get a stick on it,” Celebrini said. “Just a lucky bounce off the d-man's skate.”
Celebrini didn't even realize he got credit for the goal until teammate Eklund told him during the celebratory scrum.
The goal led to a loud ovation and chants of "Celebrini! Celebrini!" from a fanbase that has been starved for success but is energized by a youth movement led by Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, and 2023 first-rounder Will Smith.
Celebrini wasn't done, adding an assist later in the first period on a pass from behind the net to Tyler Toffoli.
“He did the same thing the first game in preseason we played together, too," Toffoli said. “He's incredible, an incredible talent, works extremely hard. At the end of the day, he wants to win games, too, and he’s going to do whatever it takes.”
Celebrini became the youngest player in NHL history to record two points in the first period of his debut, according to Sportradar, doing at 18 years, 119 days. Shane Doan held the previous mark of 18 years, 362 days, when he had two points for Winnipeg against Dallas in 1995.
He also scored the second fastest first goal ever for a No. 1 pick, trailing only Mario Lemieux, who scored 2:59 into his debut against Boston on Oct. 11, 1984.
“It was cool to get the firsts for both in my career but we lost so it sucks,” Celebrini said of having a goal and an assist.
The debuts for the Celebrini and 19-year-old Smith mark the first time in nearly 26 years that the Sharks had two teens in the lineup and the first time any team had two players picked in the top four of the draft make their debut in the same game since Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner did it for Toronto in 2016.
The two got loud ovations when they came on the ice for warmups from the crowd of 17.435 fans that included Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green. Celebrini's father, Rick, is the director of sports medicine for the Warriors.
The Sharks were one of the most successful franchises in the NHL over a span of 15 seasons, making 14 playoff appearances, five trips to the Western Conference final and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016.
Since getting to the conference final in 2016, the Sharks have missed the playoffs five straight seasons and bottomed out with a 19-win season in 2023-24 when they posted the worst goal differential in a season in 30 years.
The prize for that performance came when San Jose won the draft lottery and the right to draft Celebrini, who had 64 points in 38 games as a freshman at Boston University last season when he won the Hobey Baker award as the top college player.
The pick of Celebrini came a year after San Jose drafted Smith fourth overall and he also joined the NHL after starring at Boston College last season.
While the team on the ice might still be a few years away from competing, the addition of Celebrini and Smith have provided hope to a fanbase sorely in need of it after seeing stars from the previous generation like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson move on in recent years.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Josh Dubow, The Associated Press