San Jose Sharks
Celebrini, Smith Show Their Personalities on Eve of NHL Debut
About 10 reporters surrounded Macklin Celebrini’s locker room stall on Wednesday, on the eve of his NHL debut.
That’s to be expected — he’s the 2024 first-overall pick, after all — but that kind of media throng, big for here, hasn’t been seen since the last time the San Jose Sharks made the playoffs in 2019.
Safe to say, there’s a lot of excitement for Celebrini and fellow super prospect Will Smith’s NHL debuts on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.
In the lead-up to their big night, here are some of the fun things that we’ve learned about the San Jose Sharks’ new dynamic duo in the last couple days.
Smith says that he and Celebrini have been dominating at 2-on-2 knee hockey versus the Marleau boys
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 10, 2024
- Smith said that he and Celebrini finally moved into Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton’s houses, respectively, on Saturday. Smith and Celebrini had roomed in a hotel together throughout training camp.
- Smith, when asked if he would miss rooming with Celebrini, smiled and said that they’d be roommates on the road this season.
- Smith shared that his dad’s birthday is Oct. 10. Of course, his dad is in town for his NHL debut. So what a special day! (UPDATE: Smith says they celebrated at Maggiano’s Little Italy at Santana Row)
- Smith told us, with an impish smile, to ask Celebrini what Celebrini’s head-to-head record against him was. They both definitely like to needle each other…Celebrini, with maybe a little reluctance, shared that he’s 3-7 against Smith.
- Celebrini recalled the first time that he played Smith: “I had probably just turned 13…We played in this Boston tournament, both for the All-American Prospects, I was on the ’06 team, he was on the ’05 team, and we met each other in the finals.”
- What was Celebrini’s first impression of Smith? “I was saying exactly that, wow, he’s really good.”
- Tyler Toffoli shared this tidbit with a smile. Macklin Celebrini’s work ethic has been noticeable throughout training camp: “You guys see it, they’re on the ice first everyday and staying on as long as possible and waiting to get kicked off, basically. And [head coach Ryan Warsofsky] basically said at the end of practice there, he doesn’t want guys staying on too late. And I’m pretty sure it’s directed at those two.”
Smith won the first match up when the AAP 05s took on the AAP 06s 😉 https://t.co/Mm5qtyb4ui
— AllAmericanProspects (@AAProspect) October 9, 2024
Get excited, San Jose Sharks fans! A new era begins on Thursday night.
