Macklin Celebrini is on a mission to drag the Sharks into the fight, win or lose originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN JOSE – The Sharks no longer are a surprise to anyone in the NHL. Even on nights when they lose, the boys in Teal find a way to keep things interesting and entertaining.
Macklin Celebrini isn’t the only reason that San Jose is having fun these days, but he’s definitely a big reason why the 2025-2026 season has played out the way that it has so far.
Against a faster, more talented Dallas Stars team, Celebrini had a pretty quiet night in terms of scoring but dished out a pair of assists and helped make the game close at the end before the Sharks ultimately fell short 5-3 at SAP Center.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft basically keeps adding new chapters to his resume every time he skates onto the ice. Through 35 games, Celebrini leads the Sharks in goals (18), assists (35) and points (53), remarkable for a kid who isn’t yet eligible to legally drink in the city that fawns over his every move on the ice.
“He’s on a mission,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “He’s been on a mission since training camp, and it just seems like when you’re as competitive as he is, he wants to just get better and better and better. That’s what great players do.
“He’ll come out Saturday, he’ll want to get right after it again and he’ll be flying, things happen and being competitive and dragging guys into this fight.”
That type of attitude has been infectious for San Jose this season. Several of Celebrini’s teammates have expressed their fondness for the Kid King, whose mere presence has the rest of the Sharks playing at a level not seen in these parts for quite some time.
A few days ago, it was a historic and memorable comeback to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. Against the Stars, the Sharks nearly staged another iconic rally and made the game close at the end.
“We had our chances, but fortunately, we come up short,” said Alex Wennberg. “A lot of good things from the game. I feel like we’re building on something really good right here. Today, even though we lose this game, I feel like we’re taking a step in the right direction. We’re in this game, we’re fighting and we’re really giving them a hard time.”
That was the feeling when the Sharks rallied to stun the Penguins a few days ago and one that continues to marinate in the San Jose locker room.
“We have a good thing going as far as how we want to play,” Warsofsky said. “I thought that was one of our really better games of the year. Unfortunately, we came up with a loss but we’ll get better. There’s some real big positives that we can take from this.”