San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini scores first NHL goal in first NHL game

San Jose Sharks first overall pick Macklin Celebrini scored his first National Hockey League (NHL) goal tonight against the St. Louis Blues.

Celebrini brought the puck in over the blueline and dazzled into the faceoff circle doing a 360 spin on Ryan Suter throwing the puck on the net where it deflected off of Blues’ defenseman Matthew Kessel’s skate and past Joel Hofer.

The 18-year-old also added an assist on Tyler Toffoli’s first goal with the Sharks later in the first period.

The North Vancouver, British Columbia native tallied 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games with the Boston University Terriers of the NCAA during the 2023-24 campaign. Celebrini captured the Hobey Baker Award as the Top Collegiate Player, the Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Hockey East Player of the Year and the NCAA Tim Taylor Award as the top NCAA rookie.

Celebrini spent the 2022-23 season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel, with whom he amassed 46 goals and 86 points in 50 games as a 16-year-old. He added six goals and 15 points in seven games with Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF U-18 World Championship.

Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis listed Celebrini as the top NHL affiliate prospect to watch this season, “All eyes will be on Celebrini this season. He elected to turn pro just days after going first overall to the Sharks, “Ellis said. “He won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the NCAA last year, becoming the first 17-year-old to do so. It was truly a remarkable season and showed that, despite him being the youngest player in the league, no challenge was too difficult.

“First-overall picks always get significant attention and sometimes even get overhyped. With Celebrini, you can see all the translatable skills, plus how well he handled playing against older competition at only 17,” Ellis said. “Look for Celebrini to spend most of the season on the top line and on the power play, but don’t be discouraged if he has fewer points than Will Smith. A big part of Celebrini’s game is his play away from the puck, and that’s going to make him so valuable.”