Macklin Celebrini made as good of a first impression as you can ask for
The Macklin Celebrini-era began in San Jose on Thursday, as the 2024 first-overall pick made his NHL debut. Needless to say, Celebrini was ready for the bright lights.
The 18-year-old Sharks forward scored his first goal, less than 10 minutes into his debut, and finished the night tallying two points, two shots on goal, in 17:35 of ice-time against the St Louis Blues. The only blip was the fact the young centre won only one faceoff in 14 tries. Celebrini will look to seek some revenge in the faceoff dot in game two, however, considering all the pressure that was riding on his shoulders ahead of his NHL debut, game one was a glowing success.
On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli dished on Celebrini’s debut, and the vibe inside the Shark Tank.
Yaremchuk: Let’s start with first-overall pick, Macklin Celebrini. We touched on it yesterday, Frank. And I had the line of – ‘I don’t think he’s a 70-point guy’, and whoops, he goes and puts up two points in his debut, but he looked like he belonged, and I thought it was really cool in those first 10 minutes. Obviously, he scored, but every time he touched the puck, that crowd was ‘ooooh’, a little roar. Reminded me of watching Connor McDavid playing in Edmonton, I loved the way the crowd was reacting, it was great.
Seravalli: Yeah, you know what – the first thing that I noticed was that it was nice to see the Shark Tank come alive again. It’s been a few years. For about 25 years, I’d say it was one of the most electric buildings in the league, full every night, and they always had strong teams. For that franchise to get back to that level of excitement, with the number-one pick is hugely important.
To say nothing about Will Smith, also joining Celebrini in the lineup, it’s so cool that those two guys are doing it together. But, he’s (Celebrini) is the real deal. I truly believe, in terms of his career and what he’s ultimately going to be. Two points, and I know they blew the lead, and nobody really ends of leaving feeling good, but, this guy is going to be a force for the San Jose Sharks for years to come.
MACKLIN CELEBRINI HAS HIS FIRST NHL GOAL IN HIS FIRST NHL GAME!!! 🤩 #NHLFaceOff
📺: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm pic.twitter.com/y5D0IVrbot
Seravalli: Who tries that seven minutes into their NHL career?
Yaremchuk: Yeah, I mean the spin and again, a little lucky, but I love the kahunas to make that play and throw the little spin-o-rama pass out front. I liked his assist to Tyler Toffoli more. I thought that was a beauty…It also shows, that’s why you go get a good veteran like Toffoli to play with your young guy.
Seravalli: Yeah, that’s the one thing that the Blackhawks struggled with last year with (Connor) Bedard. It was too easy to focus in and key in on him.
For more on Celebrini’s debut and the Sharks’ outlook, along with all the latest buzz from around the NHL, watch the full episode here: