Macklin Celebrini is expected to return for the San Jose Sharks when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSCA, SNW and SN1 after missing two games because of a lower-body injury.
The 20-year-old took line rushes during pregame warmups Saturday, after being a full participant in practice Friday without taking line rushes. He took part in warmups Monday before being ruled out for a 5-0 loss at the Dallas Stars and was on the ice for the morning skate Thursday after missing practice the previous two days, but he was held out of the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues.
‘I was optimistic going into warmups, kind of tested it out,’ Celebrini said Friday about his effort to play Thursday. ‘I mean, if I wasn’t going to be at my best or close to my best, then there was no point to play. I mean, if we’re being real, I would have played (Thursday). I want to be out there. It killed me not to. After talking to my trainers, it wasn’t a smart thing to do, and it wasn’t something I should do, so I listed to their advice and their expertise and pulled back. But I mean, trust me, I wanted to be out there more than anyone.’
Celebrini had picked up right where he left off last season for San Jose (2-1-0). He had three assists in a 4-3 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 1 before following that up with two assists in a 5-4 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Last season, he ranked fourth in the NHL with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games.
Selected by the Sharks with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Celebrini has 183 points (70 goals, 113 assists) in 154 games. He was named the youngest captain in San Jose history on Sept. 25 and is the youngest active captain in the NHL.
Celebrini, perhaps inching closer to a return to the lineup, will be a game-time decision Saturday when the Sharks face Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in an early-season Pacific Division clash. He joined the Sharks for a 30-minute practice on Friday and stayed late with other skaters, with no apparent restrictions. He also missed San Jose’s Tuesday and Wednesday practices before joining the Sharks’ morning skate on Thursday in St. Louis.
‘There’s always a chance,’ Celebrini said Friday of playing against the Oilers. ‘I feel pretty good.’
Feeling discomfort during warmups, Celebrini, who had dealt with the injury for a short period, was a late scratch for Monday’s game against the Dallas Stars, who went on to a 5-0 win. The Sharks followed that with a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Celebrini didn’t want to discuss when he got injured, and coach Ryan Warsofsky has also kept mum about it all week. ‘If we’re being real, I would have played,’ Celebrini said of Monday’s game. ‘I want to be out there. It killed me not to. Talking to the trainers, it wasn’t the smart thing to do, and it wasn’t something that I should do. So, listen to their advice and their expertise, and pull back. But trust me, I wanted to be out there more than anyone.’
Celebrini, who hasn’t needed to go on injured reserve and has been considered day-to-day all week, seems to be making progress. He said the decision on when to play is a collective one. It’s also worth noting that Saturday’s game is just the Sharks’ fifth of the season, with 79 more to go. After Saturday, the Sharks host the Boston Bruins in a game that’s worth the same two points.
‘It’s all the variables,’ Celebrini said. ‘Talking to, obviously, the doctors and the trainers, and getting their medical expertise and seeing what they say, and, I’m going to be honest, seeing how I feel. It’s just a decision made collectively.’
Celebrini said his dad, Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, is also a valuable resource, as he stays in communication with Mike Potenza, the Sharks’ director of high performance. ‘(My dad) has a really good relationship with Mike Potenza and our training staff, and obviously I have the most faith in our training staff and our medical guys to give me advice, and I listen to them, and we work really well together,’ Celebrini said. ‘But my dad’s someone I’ve leaned on my whole life to give me advice, and especially in the medical field, to trust him, and he’s kind of specialized in return to play and injury prevention. So I’ll talk to him whenever I’m going through something, and that relationship is really good between (Rick Celebrini and Potenza).’
Now it’s a matter of whether Celebrini will play against McDavid in another tantalizing battle between the NHL’s best centers. ‘I feel good. It’s definitely great to get back on the ice and start skating again,’ Celebrini said. ‘It’s most fun when you’re with your teammates on the ice, so, try not to miss more time.’
Celebrini said he hasn’t read the glossy 3,000-word profile GQ magazine recently published about him, titled ‘Macklin Celebrini Is the NHL’s Next Big Breakout Star—Whether You Care About Hockey or Not.’ ‘I haven’t read it,’ Celebrini said. ‘I know they did their best to do a great job, and that’s all that matters. Yeah, it’s cool, but right now my focus is on the ice. That stuff doesn’t really matter.’
