SAN JOSE — It remains unclear whether Macklin Celebrini will turn pro, join the NHL, and play with the San Jose Sharks this season.
But Celebrini’s impact on the Sharks franchise has already been unmistakable, as evidenced by the 3,000 or so people who paid money to see him and San Jose’s other top prospects — on a national holiday – take part in a midday scrimmage at Tech CU Arena.
“I think last year was a pretty good crowd,” said defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, who was drafted in the fifth round last year, “but this year was maybe way better.”
“He’s given a buzz back to the San Jose Sharks organization,” said Todd Marchant, the Sharks’ director of player development of Celebrini. “The last couple years have been tough, but he’s given that, ‘Oh, there’s a little there’s light at the end of the tunnel’ that’s started to open up.”
Crowd pop for Celebrini pic.twitter.com/XK3LqM2Ocg
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) July 4, 2024
Celebrini, who just turned 18 three weeks ago, said Tuesday — four days after he was drafted first overall — that the decision to turn pro or return to Boston University for his sophomore season will come soon. But just in the last three days, he’s gotten a taste of how eager Sharks fans are to see him play.
Celebrini signed a couple of dozen autographs after both development camp practices this week and again at Tuesday’s San Jose Giants game at Excite Stadium, where he and fellow top prospect Will Smith threw out the first pitch.
“Mack just floated his in there. I respected Smitty’s effort a little more,” deadpanned forward Quentin Musty, who, along with Smith, was drafted in the first round by the Sharks last year. “It was in the dirt. Maybe he could have got a swing out of that one. You never know.”
Thursday’s scrimmage featured six first-round draft picks: Celebrini, Smith, Musty, Filip Bystedt, and Sam Dickenson, all taken by the Sharks, and forward David Edstrom, who was selected 32nd overall by Vegas last year and acquired as part of the trade that saw Tomas Hertl go to the Golden Knights in March.
On Thursday, when players were introduced one-on-one before the scrimmage, Celebrini, as one might expect, received the loudest ovation.
“It’s amazing. Obviously, there’s a lot of excitement here,” Celebrini said. “With the group we have … in the locker room, a lot of young guys, and we’re growing here together. So it’s a super exciting time, and I’m thrilled to see where this thing goes.”
There was drama in Thursday’s scrimmage, and Celebrini was in the middle of everything.
The team Celebrini was on — Team White — was down by three goals with just under three minutes left in the final period. With Celebrini helping drive the engine, remaining on the ice almost the entire time, Team White scored three unanswered, with Pohlkamp one-timing a pass from the Vancouver native to score the tying goal with just a few seconds left.
One timer from Pohlkamp after pass from Celebrini tied it up 7-7. pic.twitter.com/nQbzmcI7St
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) July 4, 2024
It was a familiar sight to Marchant, who saw Celebrini take over in a quarterfinal game for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships earlier this year.
“They ended up losing the game, but it was, like, ‘Let’s go. Follow me,’ and you just saw it again today,” Marchant said. “He didn’t want to come off the ice — and why would you take him off the ice, first off — but he didn’t want to come off. He wanted to be a part of that process, and this is a development camp scrimmage in July, but he wanted to be a part of process, and you love players that want to play in the big situations.
“You want players that want the responsibility and the pressure because they thrive off of it, and he is one of those guys.”
While Celebrini is far from a finished product, is he ready to turn pro, Marchant was asked?
Marchant didn’t directly say yes or no, but he does know that Celebrini has rare ability and maturity beyond his age.
“He’s a special player. He’s a he’s a special individual,” Marchant said of Celebrini. “Take aside the hockey part of it, I just like the way he carries himself. He carries himself with confidence, not cockiness, and with class, and I think what that does is it resonates amongst your group.
“The rest of the group is going to want to be with him and follow him.”
Between the draft lottery, the combine, and the draft itself at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Celebrini appears ready for things to slow down a little bit as he decides what’s next. But being in San Jose and wearing a Sharks jersey feels pretty comfortable for now.
“It’s something I’ll remember,” Celebrini said of the last few weeks, “but it’s definitely nice to move past that and now just get ready to build towards our goal and build with these guys.”
SIGNINGS: The Sharks now have at least two restricted free agents under contract, signing both Ty Dellandrea and Carl Grundstrom to two-year extensions. Grundstrom’s deal is worth $3.6 million with an average annual value of $1.8 million, and takes him to unrestricted free agency. The Sharks acquired Grundstrom, 26, from the Los Angeles Kings last week in exchange for defenseman Kyle Burroughs.
Dellandrea’s deal is worth $2.6 million and has an average annual value of $1.3 million. By the end of the contract, Dellandrea will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Dellandrea was acquired from the Dallas Stars on June 19 for a 2025 fourth-round draft pick initially owned by the Winnipeg Jets.
Dellandrea, a first-round draft pick by the Stars in 2018, turns 24 on July 21. He was coming off a one-year, $900,000 contract.