BUFFALO, N.Y. – Rookie center Macklin Celebrini has been steadfast in staying upbeat amidst a losing season in which the young, rebuilding San Jose Sharks are in jeopardy of finishing last in the NHL standings for a second consecutive year.
And hitting a few goal posts isn’t going to dent the 18-year-old’s resolve.
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Rather than let frustration seep in after firing a shot off the left post, another off the crossbar and flubbing a backhander wide of an open side in the first period at Buffalo on Tuesday night, Celebrini maintained his poise to score a clutch third-period goal to seal a 6-2 win.
“Every guy is going to go through that where they’re just hitting posts and it doesn’t seem like they’re ever going to score,” Celebrini said with a laugh. “So I don’t know, I think it’s just what was going on.”
What mattered was how a player shouldering the title of being the future face of the franchise responded with a goal 7:58 into the third, and 63 seconds after Tage Thompson cut the lead to 3-2. Accepting Shakir Mukhamadullin’s pass, Celebrini stepped into the right circle, used Buffalo’s Bowen Byram as a screen and snapped a shot inside the far post.
“Huge goal. And that’s what I think we’ll see in the future from this young man,” first-year coach Ryan Warsofsky said of a player hailed as a generational talent and projected to be a No. 1 pick long before Sharks general manager Mike Grier opened the NHL draft in Las Vegas in June by announcing Celebrini’s name.
“As you guys can probably see yourselves, Macklin is going to be extremely special. And I’m not even talking about the goal-scoring ability,” the coach said.
“The way he competes, the way he plays the 200-foot center game at 18 years old. The way he drags people into the fight with his leadership,” he added. “It’s fun to sit there in the front row and watch it. ... So I think the future’s extremely bright.”
As for the present, the Sharks are left to appreciate incremental signs of progress amid the growing pains that come with rebuilding a roster from scratch.
A night after rallying from a 2-0 third-period deficit for a 3-2 shootout victory over Toronto, San Jose (17-37-9) beat Buffalo to win consecutive games for the first time since a 3-0 run spanning Nov. 29-Dec. 3. The wins followed a slump in which the Sharks went 4-24-4.
“It just shows that we can beat teams in this league, and we have,” Warsofsky said. “Credit to the group. We weren’t getting down on ourselves with the losses piling up. ... And now, we’re getting the results.”
Time will tell how much the Sharks’ trajectory is trending upward, and with the team still shedding veteran talent before the NHL’s trade deadline on Friday.
Last month, San Jose acquired a first- and conditional third-round pick in a trade that sent defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Mikael Granlund to Dallas. Goalie Vitek Vanecek was the next to go after being traded to Florida on Wednesday.
Celebrini, of course, isn’t going anywhere.
The dynamic forward from North Vancouver, British Columbia, who was college hockey’s MVP last year as a freshman at Boston University, has so far delivered on being the “driven kid” and “alpha” Grier saw in getting to know Celebrini before the draft.
Celebrini’s 19 goals — four of them game-winners — are tied for first among NHL rookies entering Wednesday, and his 45 points tied for second, behind Montreal’s Lane Hutson’s 48. And this despite Celebrini missing 12 games due to a hip injury sustained in a season-opening game in which he scored the Sharks' first goal.
In a season San Jose opened 0-7-2, Celebrini found encouragement in winning consecutive games while playing on back-to-back nights, especially following a 1-11-3 stretch in a season San Jose has plummeted out of playoff contention.
That doesn’t make it a lost season for Celebrini, who along with Will Smith and William Eklund, and developing prospects such as Sam Dickinson and Quentin Musty, form the budding core of a brighter future.
“You’re never going to be OK with losing. It’s tough,” Celebrini said.
“But I think just staying positive, that’s been a huge thing for me,” he added. “You never want to accept it, but understanding it and just working within it and working with your teammates, trying to push for the future and know the good times are ahead.”
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