Sharks' Macklin Celebrini gives 'awesome' reaction to preseason debut
The San Jose Sharks picked Macklin Celebrini first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. They believe he can be the team's franchise cornerstone in the coming years. The Sharks rookie has turned heads in practice so far in training camp. And he made a positive impression during his first preseason game on Sunday.
Celebrini and San Jose took on the Vegas Golden Knights to kick off the preseason. San Jose fans watched as their prized prospect scored a goal in his preseason debut. However, Celebrini could not will his team to victory. The Golden Knights picked up a 4-2 win on the road on Sunday. After the game, Celebrini reflected on his preseason debut .
"Right when [I] stepped on the ice, skating in the building for the first time, that was really cool," Celebrini said, via NHL.com. "It was pretty loud in there. I really enjoyed that. "It was amazing ... It was definitely loud, and you could hear the fans that were in the building. That was cool to hear."
Sharks' Macklin Celebrini comments on first preseason goal
As mentioned, Celebrini found the back of the net on Sunday night. He took a pass from fellow Sharks prospect Luca Cagnoni and fired it into the goal. It put San Jose on the board in the third period, but they trailed 3-1. Celebrini also picked up an assist on Tyler Toffoli's goal later in the period.
When speaking with the media, Celebrini provided his insight into the goal. "Any time you can get the defensive team running around, whether it's 5-on-5, 4-on-4, or 5-on-4, anytime you can get them running around and out of their structure, the better it is and more lanes open up. I feel like that's a goal for a lot of power plays," the Sharks forward said, via NHL.com.
Overall, the performance from the top draft pick was impressive. New Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky wants to see more from Celebrini in his own end of the ice. However, he certainly gave the 18-year-old forward credit where it was due after the loss to the Golden Knights.
"He was good. He did some really good things with the puck," Warsofsky said. "[There are] some things he needs to work on defensively, without the puck, the speed of the game for him. He scores a big goal [and] gets us momentum. He did some really good things offensively, for sure."
The Sharks forward is expected to make the roster out of training camp. Still, it will certainly be interesting to see how Celebrini performs as preseason continues. San Jose takes to the ice again on Tuesday when they face the Anaheim Ducks.
