San Jose Sharks
Erik Karlsson Praises Macklin Celebrini: ‘He’s something special’

Erik Karlsson, meet Macklin Celebrini.
Karlsson’s Pittsburgh Penguins got to town on Saturday night, early for their Monday showdown against the San Jose Sharks.
On Sunday night, Karlsson had dinner at Joe Thornton’s house, where Macklin Celebrini is living.
Of course, Karlsson praised Thornton’s wife Tabea’s cooking: “I ate for free, and I ate really good.”
And he was effusive in his praise of Celebrini.
“He’s a good kid. Obviously, I’m close with Jumbo. Talk to him quite a bit and he lives with them,” Karlsson said on Monday. “Got to meet him yesterday. Seems like he’s a sharp kid. Very polite and friendly, which is a good quality to have.”
Karlsson has only heard good things about Celebrini, and from the people who count. They faced off against each other in Pittsburgh on Nov. 16, a 4-3 San Jose Sharks’ shootout loss.
Naturally Karlsson, who had a dizzyingly up-and-down stint in teal from 2018 to 2023, still knows a lot of people in the San Jose Sharks organization.
“He’s a good player. He went first-overall in in a pretty good Draft that had a lot of depth and talent. Hopefully, he can reach the potential that everybody thinks he’s going to,” Karlsson said. “I don’t know him too well personally, so it’s hard to say whether he has what it takes or not, but from what I’ve been hearing from the people that I still talk to around here and trust, he’s something special, and he’s got a very bright future, and hopefully it works out.”
Karlsson says his daughter Harlow wanted to come to San Jose just to visit @sjsharkie
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 27, 2025