Sheng Peng
Macklin Celebrini wasn’t just good for a rookie in his NHL debut. In many key areas, he was elite compared to some of the best players in the league.
Per Stathletes’ micro-stats, here’s where the San Jose Sharks’ super-rookie shone in his first season.
Of course, Celebrini is just 19, so there are also crucial things that he can improve on next year.
Here’s where Celebrini excelled and how he can improve with his shooting, passing, puck-carrying, and defense.
Shooting
Predictably, the speedy Celebrini’s go-to shot is off the rush.
Celebrini was 19th among NHL forwards (of 373, 50-plus games) with 6.39 Rush Shots Per 60 at 5-on-5.
That’s his only top-20 finish among all the shot types tracked by Stathletes, Rush Shots, Cycle Shots, One-Timers, Shots Through Traffic, Deflection Shots, and Point Shots.
Owen Tippett, William Karlsson, and Dylan Guenther led the NHL in Rush Shots rate.
The San Jose Sharks star also has a gift for gaining the middle of the ice before uncorking his shot.
He’s 17th with 13.17 Shots Between the Dots Per 60.
Celebrini is in good company here: Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, and Timo Meier led the league in this category.
That said, an NHL coach told the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, “His shot is elite, but he’s too fine with it.”
Essentially, like many young forwards, Celebrini still needs to learn the value of simply getting the puck on net.
“In the game, you’re not going to have the luxury of being able to pick your spot every single time. Luc Robitaille, he told me early in my career, to make the goalie make a save,” Tyler Toffoli told San Jose Hockey Now in November. “If you’re missing the net, obviously there’s no chance of it going in. If the goalie is making a save, then there’s a chance that it will go in.”
“He will be a 40-goal scorer soon,” the coach said.
Passing
Celebrini is a good passer, but he’s got to improve his puck management.
He was 11th among NHL forwards with 17.18 Passes Closer to the Net Per 60 at 5-on-5.
Per Stathletes, this is a “successful pass with control where the receiver is closer to the net than the passer (offensive zone only)”.
Leon Draisaitl, Robert Thomas, and Clayton Keller led the league in this area.
Celebrini was also 15th with 4.8 Slot Passes Per 60.
Nathan MacKinnon, Thomas, and Connor McDavid were league leaders here.
The San Jose Sharks’ wunderkind also likes tossing the long bomb.
He was ninth with 2.32 Stretch Passes Per 60 at 5-on-5.
Per Stathletes, this is a “successful pass with control where the receiver is 50-plus feet up ice from the passer”.
Jason Robertson, Filip Forsberg, and Teddy Blueger are the NHL’s best forwards in this category.
But he must be more careful with the puck, which his low pass completion rates suggest.
Celebrini has the fourth-worst Successful Passes in OZ percentage in the NHL at 87.5%.
Only Rasmus Kupari, Luke Glendening, and Justin Dowling were worse.
Specifically, a lot of the rookie’s giveaways were of the low-to-high variety.
Celebrini had a 35.4 Low-to-High Pass %, worst among all forwards. Patrik Laine and Meier were just ahead of him.
According to Stathletes, a Low-to-High Pass is a “pass with control where the passer is below the goal line and receiver above the goal line (OZ only)”.
In the same way, Celebrini 52.8 Behind the Net Passes % was fourth-worst among all NHL forwards, behind Nikita Kucherov, Meier, and Jack Hughes.
Kucherov and Hughes are absolutely among the most dangerous forwards in the league, so that brings up another point: Nobody is asking Celebrini to be a mistake-free passer. When you’ve got the puck on your stick a lot, and you’re responsible for your team’s offense, turnovers are inevitable.
Celebrini has to find that balance between producing more and making just a few less mistakes.
Carrying
Celebrini’s speed, stickhandling, puck protection, and hockey IQ have already made him the San Jose Sharks’ best puck transporter.
This is in every zone.
The centerman is 20th with 19.61 Stretch Carries Per 60 at 5-on-5.
Hughes, McDavid, and Draisaitl are the best in the NHL in this regard.
Per Stathletes, a successful stretch carry is “where the distance (start to end point) is greater than 30 feet”.
Celebrini is ninth with 7.6 Successful Controlled Entries Per 60.
Draisaitl, Jack Eichel, and Brayden Point top NHL forwards here.
Celebrini is 15th with 38.2 Closer Carries and 6.27 Slot Carries Per 60.
Closer Carries are “where the puck is carried closer to the net than the original possession gain”. Slot Carrys are “where the puck is carried into the Slot.”
Hughes, Draisaitl, and McDavid lead NHL forwards in Closer Carries, while McDavid, MacKinnon, and Hughes lead in Slot Carries.
Once again, Celebrini is on the fringes on best-of-best company.
Celebrini’s puck-carrying also created offense for the Sharks.
He was 18th with 15.37 Carries Leading to Shots Per 60 at 5-on-5.
Guenther, Cutter Gauthier, and Ovechkin pace the league’s forwards here.
Defense
Celebrini’s impact isn’t limited to just offense.
He’s an unpolished but active defensive center.
Celebrini is seventh with 3.9 Turnovers Created in the DZ Per 60 at 5-on-5.
Per Stathletes, these are turnovers forced from steals and pass interceptions.
This is a category where you want to hang with the grinders.
Ryan McLeod, Sam Carrick, and David Kampf are the NHL’s best forwards here.
Celebrini is 10th with 8.93 Puck Deflections Per 60.
Kampf, Ryan O’Reilly, and Morgan Frost are top-three.
Celebrini is 10th with 53.1 Puck Recoveries Per 60.
These are all puck recoveries, loose puck and shot recoveries.
McLeod, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthews lead in this category.
Specifically, Celebrini is third with 23.91 DZ Recoveries Per 60, just behind McLeod and Nic Dowd.
This stat, and his DZ Turnovers Created, do speak to how much time that Celebrini spends in the defensive zone for the San Jose Sharks. That’s not good. But better to see Celebrini here than not here.
Celebrini was also 10th among NHL forwards with 118 Puck Battles Won in All Situations.
Martin Pospisil, Noah Cates, and Brayden Schenn pace the league here.
Of course, good defense is sometimes just not losing the puck.
Celebrini is bottom-20 among forwards in 5-on-5 Giveaways in every zone, worst in the offensive zone.
He’s sixth-worst with 21.53 OZ Giveaways Per 60.
Thomas, Draisaitl, and Kucherov are bottom-three.
That trio of stars, once again, remind us that giveaways are going to happen when you have the puck a lot.
But for Celebrini to reach his potential as a two-way superstar, a player capable of winning both the Hart and Selke Trophies, he’ll have to improve his puck management.