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SJHN Daily: Celebrini Learning From Crosby, Vote SJ Sharkie Into Mascot Hall of Fame
Macklin Celebrini, already named to Team Canada for the upcoming World Championships, has some exciting new teammates.
Sidney Crosby, Nate MacKinnon, and Marc-Andre Fleury are all joining Team Canada too.
Celebrini looks to be getting some teaching from Crosby while they share the ice.
sid & macklin at worlds, new child unlocked pic.twitter.com/u7dszQqKX7
— josie (@larsdeepv) May 7, 2025
This must be a special time for Macklin Celebrini, considering that Crosby was an idol of his growing up.
So Celebrini seems to be fitting in just fine with his much older peers. And he nearly had an insane goal in a warm-up game.
Macklin Celebrini nearly scored one of the coolest goals you would have ever seen. #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/tDg2FPJaIj
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 6, 2025
At San Jose Hockey Now…
Mike Grier spoke about getting the No. 2 pick, a William Eklund extension, and Celebrini for the San Jose Sharks’ captaincy.
The San Jose Barracuda lost Game Three in Overtime.
And then the San Jose Sharks‘ AHL affiliate lost the series in Game Four.
Submit a San Jose Sharks‘ question to the latest subscriber mailbag!
Other Sharks News…
A new episode of The Undercurrent with Tara Slone dropped.
NEW episode of The Undercurrent is here! @TaraSlone talks with two-time Olympic Silver medalist and four-time World Champion turned broadcaster and coach, Megan Bozek Ferguson.
🍏: https://t.co/mxch2Y7fpV
🎧: https://t.co/diSB4F59R1 pic.twitter.com/g7Y0xgVIHB— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 6, 2025
You can vote SJ Sharkie into the Mascot Hall of Fame…starting on May 11!
The San Jose Sharks have three players competing at the World Championships.
📍Sharks at Worlds
We'll be cheering on our guys in the IIHF World Championship starting Friday! 👏 pic.twitter.com/FzxdK6dbSr
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 7, 2025
The Sharks released a new Mic’d Up with Macklin Celebrini.
Missing Sharks hockey? This yap session with Macklin Celebrini will help 💬 pic.twitter.com/trWSPouCp2
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 7, 2025
After Macklin Celebrini didn’t like his first superlative, the Sharks media team tried a few more.
Around the NHL…
Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick for the second game in a row. The Dallas Stars are up 1-0 in their series against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Utah Hockey Club is officially no more – now it’s the Utah Mammoth.
Inside the Vegas Golden Knights’ Game One undoing.
Per a source, Penn State reportedly has an offer north of $250,000 on the table for Porter Martone.
Nothing is finalized but they are heavily involved in his recruitment and there's a real possibility he lands in Happy Valley. #HockeyValley #NCAAHockey https://t.co/KWOQ4j2S4o
— Will James (@wmjsports) May 5, 2025
St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug may be forced into an early retirement due to an ankle injury.
What’s the latest on the next New York Islanders‘ GM?
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz missed Game Two after a scary head injury.
Mitch Marner says he's started writing "M" on his stick tape to remind him of his newborn son, Miles, and give him something to focus on while steadying himself between shifts.
"I'm trying to play for him."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 8, 2025
Penn State’s program is picking up some steam, Luke Misa and Martone would be a very talented pair of teammates for Sharks prospect Reese Laubach to play with.
Also some fun old school San Jose hockey connections at Penn State. Head coach Guy Gadowsky played for Roy Sommer for many years, both as a Richmond Renegade and an original San Jose Rhino. An all time great hockey name that I will never forget.
Guy is one of the dudes me and some friends got to play pickup with at the old Bladium rink in SF when they first got into town before the inaugural Rhinos season.
That’s awesome. My aunt took me to watch Game 7 on the jumbotron at the Tank in 1994, and impulse bought season tickets for the Rhinos inaugural season. Ended up having them until the team folded, and during those years they meant more to me than the Sharks because I could just strap on blades and imitate them in the street.
I still have a series of old photos featuring seven year old me and just about everyone on the team that first season, including Guy. I don’t think it would have been a fair pickup game, though.
I’m excited to see the CHL to NCAA pipeline firing up. Too bad Dickinson missed out on this by a year. I don’t understand hockenomics well enough to know if Martone is going to be worth $250k to Penn St, but imagine me making wild hand gestures and flamboyantly saying “Not. My. Money” and you’ll have the right image in your head. I’m also Brazilian and ripped with an awesome 6-pack in case you weren’t sure. Definitely not a fat 47 year old. Curious why Luke is going this route and no talk of Michael, yet. Tells me maybe he… Read more »
Michael Misa’s situation is a bit unique, for a few reasons. He’s a well-rounded and physically mature player so he will probably want to see who drafts him before he commits to an NCAA program. If he is drafted by the Sharks, for example, he may want to bet on himself to see if he can at least get a nine game NHL audition next season out of training camp. If he goes the NCAA route, he can’t even attend an NHL training camp. More importantly for Misa is that he doesn’t need to use the NCAA as a stepping… Read more »
Was poking around Tankathon today and a couple of possible trades jumped out at me. Not trading down from #2, I’m not touching that can of worms (nor do I think we should) but I see a couple of possibilities based on teams without many picks in the first two rounds: 1. SJS #28, #33, #53, for PIT #11: Basically the opposite of Mike Grier’s first draft, consolidate to move up to just outside the top 10. Almost the same pick positions too. Pittsburgh has three thirds but their only second-rounder belongs to Washington, who can pick no lower than… Read more »
These are some good, creative ideas that I think are pretty realistic. The pool doesn’t need volume, it needs specificity and talent, so consolidating to move up to 11 — especially if Mrtka is still on the board there — has a lot of appeal. The Sharks are going to add another elite piece at two, but they really need to leave this draft with a big, mobile righty that has top four potential. Fiddler might be there at 28 or even 33, but it seems unlikely and he projects more as a solid number four. Mrtka could be a… Read more »
I would also try to get the Sharks 2026 3rd back from Pittsburgh, because that opens up offer sheetiness and all the possibilities therein. I’m not on board with offersheeting just anyone, although maybe Peterka and Knies are my guys, maybe Dobson too. But just having the dry powder is good. If they can get Pittsburgh #11 and Mrtka is there and set up the offseason even more, I love it
Pittsburgh already traded that pick to Vancouver, but perhaps Vancouver would trade us Tom Willander and that 3rd back, for Mario Ferraro and SJS #28 (probably needs more sweeteners from us).
Yeah the Willa Dee thing is interesting. He would be a nice pickup.
“Willander”
Locked On Sharks just did a piece on that.
Willander does sound like the sort of player the Sharks need. Vancouver won’t be short of offers if he’s on the block.
if he’s there, knowing what little I know, I part with both 33rd overall and the Dallas 1st to get him. Still not sure that’s enough.
My mistake, Pittsburgh traded our 3rd-rounder this year to Vancouver, they still hold our 2026 3rd-rounder (which is the one we’d use in an offer sheet this summer).
No offer sheets until the team is good and the draft picks aren’t in danger of being near the top of the round.
What about smaller offers that are only 2nds or 3rds? Also, I think that for bigger offers, 1sts can be conveyed over 3 years in 2 1sts case and 5 years in the biggest 4 1sts case. Not sure if the team can choose which years to convey them. A devious bastard, however, could trade the Sharks 2026 1st for a massive haul and then offersheet Knies to a punitive short term AAV and possibly maximize the near term value of the next 3 1sts. They could pick Misa and the trade the Dallas and Oilers 1sts for another you… Read more »
100%. I wouldn’t even want to lose their 2nd next draft. They’re saying it’s a pretty great group.
Worth watching the brutal scouching video on Mrkta from just a couple days ago. Lots of clips showing the bigger kid being outplayed by the smaller ones. Even in physical play.
Really underwhelming assessment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaOQbm3JM-w
Every prospect has detractors. I’ve seen more glowing reviews of Mrtka’s game and potential than I have bad ones. It’s also not uncommon for really tall teens to struggle with smaller players, it takes them a while to rediscover their center of gravity. If the Sharks want to add a high end RHD prospect this year, taking a swing on Mrtka is their best option.
2 general rules. Taller takes longer. D-men take longer. Anaheim went well outside of projection to select Sennecke 3rd overall. They saw a younger player who’d grown a lot and maybe hadn’t figured out his new frame. But they took the gamble and he’s listed 8th on TSN’s NHL-affiliated prospects list from February. Which still doesn’t justify his 3rd overall pick, but does suggest he’s become more valuable than several who were taken ahead of him. So yes, someone will take the swing at 6’6″ RHD. Probably in the top 10. Much like Silayev last season and a few years… Read more »
Scouching is always pretty rough in his videos, I like that he’s pointing out all the details and not sugar coating things, but if everyone sucks, then maybe he’s just reviewing very good players and being very discerning. Mrtka probably isn’t the next Slavin, but he could still be good
He’s not down on everyone. He openly says he’s a good bit lower on Mrkta than most other people doing rankings.
I’d say he has a very frank, prosaic way of describing (not necessarily of evaluating) prospects, especially Ds, especially compared to the usual gushing that non-scout draft profilers usually do.
Example: His Cagnoni video did not seem to show Cags in a flattering light at all, my heart was in my stomach, even though his evaluation/takeaways were positive. And when he was on Locked On Sharks debating Schaefer vs Misa with Tony Ferrari, I couldn’t even tell who he was supposed to be arguing for, he was so sparing with his praise.
I always get the sense he’s a good bit lower on everyone than everyone else. Scouching’s draft rankings start at #38 every year.
I’m think I’m in the “move up to get Fiddler or Hensler” camp. Doubt Mrkta is in play. RHD feels like such a black hole — even if its not quite a bleak. I like Jack Thompson, who was apparently pretty solid in the AHL playoffs. A year away perhaps, but still. Not sure about Nate Misskey or Colton Roberts, At least their numbers look OK. Both are 6’4″. Axel Landon is a bit closer and 6’1″. Pohlkamp is smaller, but he’s lightning and his NCAA numbers were impressive. Think he and Cagnoni will fight for a spot, tough to… Read more »
I have Thrungnoni penciled in as the bottom pairing of the future (Cags playing off-hand) with Pohlkamp as the 7th D. But that’s three years from being a solid bottom 3, and agreed we could use some more size – for the mailbag I asked about the Swedish 2nd-rounder Dmen but neither of them tops 6 ft. A real shame that Gannon Laroque’s development got derailed, his size and handedness are in short supply.
There are a few big swing type players that might still be available at the Ottawa pick that could help fill that gap in the Sharks system to some degree. Carter Amico is maybe the most intriguing. He’s a tree. Brzustewicz has good size and an outside shot at top four potential, and the Sharks scouting staff should be very familiar with him since he plays in London. Feels like most of the projectable defensemen available in that late first/early second range are going to be lefties. Boumedienne wouldn’t be a surprise, given that he plays at BU. Lynden Lakovic… Read more »
Amico RHD, 6’5
Lakovic F 6’4
Brzustewicz RHD 6’1 (Dickinson connection)
Boumedienne LHD 6’1 (Boston connection)
I’m hearing “Lynden Lakovic to VGK at #62”. He’s a winger though, no? Can play on a line with Trevor Connelly.
I could be interested in Amico. Brzustewicz could work too, he’s done well with Dickinson. Haoxi Wang as well (his play seems like he could learn his offhand well enough and his wingspan would help) or Alex Huang. I imagine Hensler and Trethewey don’t fall to our second pick of the draft unless they trade up, but honestly neither one of those has wowed me.
Oh he is, my bad!
I forgot Vancouver had the 2026 3rd. Whoever has it, get it. And Grier should be more careful throwing 3rds into deals going forward. They don’t have 2027’s either. I don’t think RFA’s were really on his mind then, he might have been a little old school in his thinking there, but I get it. 2028 will be prime offersheet time if the team is making a big playoff jump and a potential 1st they might lose is in the 20’s instead of the low teens or higher. Yeah, the Dmen need to fish the pucks out of the corners… Read more »
I think you might be over rotating on the importance of the offer sheet as a building tool. It’s a lever GMs very rarely pull. It’s even more rare for those offer sheets to go unmatched. It’s a Hail Mary play for acquiring talent when a very specific set of circumstances arise, but not a core element of any team’s foundational strategy. If you have a good deal on the table that clearly improves the team — like adding Askarov, for example, or getting Hertl’s contract off the books — the hypothetical possibility of an offer sheet somewhere down the… Read more »
Well, I think it’s a little bit disingenuous to say “it’s rarely used” because the reason for that wasn’t because it was a bad tool, but because the GMs were basically colluding in an old boy’s club. Nobody wanted to offend anyone in the lounge. Next, I think it’s debatable to talk about who’s going to be available in 2027 and 2028, but if the Sharks have the opportunity to accumulate more sure things instead of waiting for prospects to hit and for some to miss as well, I think you have to figure out the balance. Do I want… Read more »
Also, I want to explain the 3 year / $36M numbers. First, it’s the max for the 1,1,2,3 threshold, anymore and it’d cost 4 1sts, and that’s not gonna happen, nobody is arguing for that. Second, though, it’s meant to bridge him to UFA. The only team that can reasonably offer more than that $12M AAV is the Leafs, and they could very well do that, but then it’s also about the player wanting to get a big number now while awaiting a REALLY big number before his age 26 season. If the Leafs put 8 years / $96M in… Read more »
I’m not saying it isn’t a useful or utilized tool, just that you can’t really depend on it as a way to build a team and therefore it shouldn’t stop Grier from dealing third round picks like the midrange assets they are. The Sharks put that kind of pressure on Chicago back in the day when they signed Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet that the Hawks matched. We ended up wasting half a decade of our classic core’s prime on Antti Niemi as a result. These moves can backfire as easily as they work. It’s not as simple as just… Read more »
Fair, I agree with that point. “Maximize your assets” is really what I think we’re both saying.
Nobody forced the Sharks to sign Niemi after the Hjalmarsson thing failed, too. But dang he was good for Chicago in their first run. Wish he could have ever played half that well in teal.
If you look at Neimis stats they were actually pretty great. The team in front of him scoring was usually the problem.
He was the crown prince of poorly timed softies and the Sharks immediately went to the finals the season after he fucked off to Dallas. In my opinion, bringing in Niemi cost the Sharks multiple finals appearances.
Like I said, go look at his stats. Sharks made the finals because DW finally address scoring depth, defensive depth and the team had some injury luck.
I don’t need to look at his stats, I watched every single game he played as a Shark and I vividly remember how much he sucked at all the wrong times.
Ok man… sure👍
Out of curiosity, how old were you when he played for the Sharks? Also, timely and untimely goals applies to the offensive players too. If the Sharks had actually scored or had a backbone his few goals against wouldn’t have seemed so detrimental. I guess another way to look at it is go look at the save percentage and gaa of the goalies he lost to and tell me again how it’s all his fault.🙂
Ok I went back and looked. He had one bad playoff run, the reverse sweep which frankly was a team loss as much as it was him. Other than that he was average at .896 on a run to the conference finals and he was great in 2 other playoffs with a .910 and .930. Say what you want but the skaters bear far more responsibility for the teams failures in 3 of 4 playoff runs. I would be curious to see what his gsae is in those runs. Reverse sweep? Sharks scored 2 goals in the final 3 games.… Read more »
Also, I want to clearly draw the conclusion based on what you were saying the other day. I offered 2 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd to Toronto for Knies and you said they would “laugh that off the table.” This is exactly why that offer is no laughing matter. If the Sharks do drop this offer on Knies, Toronto either has to match it and feel extreme pain in year one of the deal (which is the point, from the Sharks’ perspective) or they let Knies go and essentially take what I offered. Now if the Sharks do have… Read more »
Also, I forgot to mention that the Sharks directly offer-sheeting the player isn’t the only move here. Simply the threat of a better team offer-sheeting Knies could incentivize the Leafs to take a deal like what I outlined because it’s better than what they’d get if, say, Tampa did it.
Can’t remember exactly what I said before, but that was 2026 1st (top 10 protected), Edmonton 2026 1st (or Dallas 2025), Ottawa 2025 2nd, Sharks 2026 2nd. I also added Wennberg, but whatevs on that part.
This was the deal you proposed:
Sharks send:
2026 top 8 protected #1
Oilers 2026 #1
2026 Colorado #2
Wennberg (fully retained contract)
An offer sheet would come without the protection and more picks, so I think Toronto would take a chance on the offer sheet compensation package over that deal.
Ok, my new deal includes the 2025 #2, which might not be that valuable to Toronto because they can’t trade it in season. They might prefer the 2026 Avs pick for those purposes. If that’s the case, easy decision to swap. But 2 1’s including a pretty good Sharks 2026, and 2’s is better than the offer sheet comp for sure.
In Pohlkamp’s defense, he’s only small in terms of his reach. He is already over 200 pounds and hits like a freight train. He’s a Ferraro 5’11, not a Dan Boyle 5’11.
I agree Pohlkamp isn’t giving up weight to anyone, but at his height, he might be giving up 8″ or more of poke check ability defending a rush
Only saw him at the prospects game, and he was just so much faster and more agile. Don’t recall him throwing the body, though it was 4v4 iirc and there’s not much call for throwing the body. Might have seen him one other time. But if he’s got heft on top of his speed and agility, makes him more promising. Still, I don’t think Sharks have more than 1 sub-6′ d-men in their line-up when they’re competing for Cups. I do think an important part of NHL defense is a radius game — how big an area can you defend/influence?… Read more »
I watched him play a lot this year and he’s a fascinating player that is hard to define. He joins the rush like a forward. He forechecks. But he has a huge shot from the blue line, loves to play physical, and takes care of business in his own end pretty well. He’s basically a scaled down Byfuglien with better feet. I agree that it’s unlikely the Sharks have two guys under six foot in the lineup when they’re contending, but let me ask you this – if the Sharks had a solid top four, all four players 6’2 and… Read more »
To be fair, I’ve started to mentally write off certain players as part of a Sharks contending team. Thrun and Ferraro among them.
Both Pohlkamp and Cagnoni seem like players that have a real shot at the NHL. If the Sharks had both on the roster, I’d hope one would be the 7th d-man.
It’s a make or break year for Ferraro coming up. He’ll be dealt at the TDL if he’s not part of the future. Honestly I can’t see Thrun being part of a contender or really having much trade value. But he’s got another prove it year, too.
I think Thrun might be an offseason casualty as soon as this summer. The upgrades have to plug in somewhere and they’re light on experience. I think it’s more likely Thrun is shipped to make room than Ferraro, at least in the immediate.
I’m not writing off Thrun yet.
If the ‘let’s not overthink it’ sorts do what is expected and we get Misa, the question is who are we looking at.
Sure seems like the consensus is RHD over everything else.
Mrkta, Fiddler, Hensler, Amico, Willander, Dobson among the more prominent names mentioned. Who else am I missing?
Two unlikely (which might call for moving the 2nd overall) are Adam Fox and Rasmus Dahlin (LHD, but so good it solves the elite d-man issue).
I could also see Grier targeting another 3C candidate with one of the late first/early second picks. Might be more of a mid round pick, but my bet is William Horcoff ends up a Shark in June. Big, collegiate player and his dad is a former Grier teammate.
I thought Dahlin is RHD, no?