Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini wants all the responsibility he can get in Year 1

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini

Credit: Macklin Celebrini (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

LAS VEGAS – He looks like a kid. He sounds like a kid. He is a kid.

But Macklin Celebrini does not carry himself like a kid.

To be clear, he still has that youthful pep in his step. When discussing his upcoming debut NHL season with reporters at the Player Media Tour last week, he couldn’t hide his megawatt smile. But he also makes strong eye contact, projects his voice, displays few signs of nerves – behaviors more typical of the many veterans who stopped by for interviews at Las Vegas’ Encore Hotel. Not so typical of an 18-year-old who was just selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks in the NHL Draft.

Celebrini understands the pressure associated with that status but, at least when making a first impression, seems extremely ready to meet it head on. Why?

Maybe it’s the mentors and role models he draws from. There’s his friend Connor Bedard, last season’s No. 1 overall pick and fellow North Vancouver export, whose rookie journey Celebrini followed closely last season. He admires the way Bedard handled the heat in every market he visited and how he navigated a broken jaw. There’s also future Hall of Famer and Sharks royalty ‘Jumbo’ Joe Thornton, Celebrini’s soon-to-be roommate, who went first overall in 1997 and battled through not just pressure but also famous first-year struggles. Despite the fact Celebrini’s father Rick works for the Golden State Warriors as director of sports medicine and performance and lives in the Bay Area, it would still be an hour commute back and forth due to the traffic, Celebrini notes, and that was one reason why the Thornton mentorship came together.

“I feel like it was right for me just to be able to have someone there who’s a former first overall pick, who’s been through it all and who is one of the best players to ever play,” Celebrini said. “Someone who I can learn from and who’s experienced a lot of things I haven’t gone through. Just ask questions and be there. He’s such a big persona, he’s seen it all. He’s dealt with the pressure. That’s obviously part of the equation.”

Another part of the equation: pure restlessness. Celebrini might simply come across so polished because he can’t wait another second and is too amped up to display any signs of timidity.

“There’s been so much buildup for me personally, too, like training all summer,” he said. “I personally had a really long summer ever since I finished playing April 14 [with Boston University], so I’ve had a long time to train and get ready for the season and yeah, I’m ready to play.”

But the simplest explanation for Celebrini’s run-through-a-wall eagerness is probably just, well, Celebrini being Celebrini. Sidney Crosby comparisons followed Celebrini around during his Draft year for a reason: he’s known to be peerlessly competitive, meticulous and also well-rounded in his hockey IQ and 200-foot play. Perhaps the more accurate comparison would be later-career Crosby, as Sid was a scoring machine when he first broke into the NHL and gradually matured into an all-situations virtuoso hellbent on winning. Celebrini may lack the offensive ceiling Crosby did entering the NHL but profiles as an all-around dominator and leader who will make others around him better. His spirit was instilled in him by his parents at a young age. His dad played soccer for Canada’s senior national team, his mother Robyn captained the soccer team at the University of British Columbia, and Celebrini’s siblings all play competitive-level sports.

“I feel like it’s just something my parents ingrained in me when I was young,” Celebrini said. “ ‘If you want to do something, do it to the best of your ability.’ Don’t just do it with half your energy or half as good as you could do. So that’s how I looked at it: if I really wanted to do this and this was my passion and I’d love to do it, why not give my all? Why not do everything I can to succeed? I feel like that’s something that’s stuck with me throughout my childhood and up to this point.”

At every stop of his career to date, Celebrini has been known to set extremely high standards for himself, and he views his rookie season through the same lens. It’s true that Sharks GM Mike Grier went to work strengthening his 32^nd-place lineup over the summer, which included adding veteran forwards Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow and Ty Dellandrea. It’s also true that fellow elite prospect and fellow center Will Smith has turned pro and will compete for a job on the same depth chart as Celebrini. But when asked what type of role he wants as a rookie, he doesn’t offer the canned diplomatic answer. He wants new coach Ryan Warsofsky to pile on the responsibility.

“Going into the year, same as last year, there’s a growing period where you want to feel your way through it, obviously be respectful, but at some point you kind of want to, I mean, you ask any guy, they want to play in all situations,” Celebrini said. “They want to play on the power play and the first line and all that. So I can’t say it’s any different for me. I’ll support whatever coach Warsofsky puts in front of me, but that’s something that I’m going to move toward for sure.”

Kid or not, Celebrini wants the spotlight. He wants to make an impact on every facet of the game from Day 1. And why not? His competitiveness has taken him this far. The Sharks expect nothing less going forward. That’s why they can’t wait to see him in action.

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POST SPONSORED BY bet365

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Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini wants all the responsibility he can get in Year 1

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