SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is only one game into his rookie NHL season and is already dealing with a significant injury.
In a potentially serious blow to the Sharks’ hopes of getting off to a better start this season, Celebrini was placed on injured reserve Saturday and is now considered week to week with a lower-body ailment that will keep him out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time.
Celebrini will have to miss at least the next three games, starting with Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. But the Sharks could be without the 18-year-old wunderkind for much longer, as coach Ryan Warsofsky couldn’t put a timeline for when Celebrini might be able to play again.
“It’s a good learning moment for him, and life’s unfair at times,” Warsofsky said of Celebrini. “But I think he mentally, he’s good. He was in here today working, and it’s the game of hockey, right? There’s going to be injuries. I’m sure it won’t be his last injury, and we’ve got to continue to move forward.”
It was not immediately clear when Celebrini might have been injured, as he had two points and played over 17 minutes in his memorable NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Warsofsky said he first learned that Celebrini had a lower-body injury after the game, and the next day, the centerman was evaluated and held out of practice.
Celebrini, who became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player last year, also dealt with a nagging lower-body injury during the preseason. However, Warsofsky wouldn’t confirm whether the teenager’s latest malady was related to the one that sometimes bothered him during training camp.
In an Oct. 1 game against the Utah Hockey Club, Celebrini aggravated a lower-body injury, left midway through the second period, and didn’t play in the Sharks’ final two exhibition games.
Upon his return to the lineup in his NHL debut on Thursday, Celebrini flashed the traits that made him the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft. With a nonstop motor, plus his skating, passing ability, and compete level, Celebrini had a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ 5-4, season-opening 5-4 loss to the Blues.
Celebrini’s performance came before a raucous home crowd as San Jose built a three-goal lead in the second period. Celebrini scored the first goal of the Sharks’ season at the 7:01 mark of the third period and later assisted on a goal by Tyler Toffoli. But the Sharks allowed three goals in the third period and lost in overtime.
Toffoli, the Sharks’ top free agent signing this offseason, has played games with and without Celebrini and said, “It’s a totally different dynamic. He’s obviously already one of the best players on our team, if not the best. So he’s going to be missed.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been on teams where we’ve lost our best player, or one of our best players, for long periods of time, and it just gives other guys an opportunity to step up,” Toffoli continued, referencing his former Los Angeles Kings teammate Jeff Carter. “And we have a lot of guys that want to play more minutes and get more of an opportunity.”
The Sharks have had abysmal starts each of the last two years, going 0-5-0 to begin the 2022-23 season and 0-10-1 last season. Between 2022 and now, San Jose is carrying an 11-game losing streak (0-10-1) in the month of October into Saturday’s game.
After Saturday, the Sharks begin a three-game road trip next with stops in Dallas, Chicago and Winnipeg. The game against the Blackhawks on Thursday would have featured the last two No. 1 overall picks after Chicago selected superstar-in-waiting Connor Bedard in that spot in 2023.
For however long Celebrini is out, there’s little question his ability to impact games will be missed.
“He can drive pucks through the neutral zone, wants the puck on his stick, he’s confident,” Warsofsky said. “He’s got a high level of pace to his game where he can make things happen offensively. He’s got a high motor. He’s obviously an electric player for his age, so I think that’s probably the biggest thing, and our guys see that too.
“This is part of the growth of this team, the adversity. We need guys to step up and fill those shoes, and I think we have the right group in there to do that.”
In Friday’s practice, Mikael Granlund took Celebrini’s spot as the Sharks’ top-line center with Toffoli and William Eklund on the wings, and that line is expected to remain intact for Saturday’s game.
It also appears that Will Smith will start the game as the Sharks’ second-line center, with Klim Kostin and Fabian Zetterlund on the wings. Smith, who roomed with Celebrini last month, had two shots on goal Thursday in 13:41 of ice time and might now be asked to take on more responsibility.
Celebrini and Smith led all NCAA Division I players in points per game last season. Smith had 71 points in 41 games for national runner-up Boston College, and Celebrini, then just 17, had 64 points in 38 games.
Of Celebrini having to go on IR, Smith said, “It sucks. Obviously you never want that to happen, but it’s part of the game, and hopefully he’s back soon. … I see him every morning, and he’s in good spirits. He’s bummed missing the games, but he’s going to be back soon.”
The Sharks have better center depth now than last season, although that depth is starting to be tested. Captain Logan Couture (osteitis pubis) is out indefinitely, but the Sharks still have Granlund, Smith, free agent signee Alexander Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow, Nico Sturm, and Ty Dellandrea as center options.
Wennberg was expected to center the Sharks’ third line on Saturday with Goodrow and Luke Kunin, and Sturm will center the fourth line with Dellandrea and Grundstrom.
With Kostin and Grundstrom coming in and making their season debuts, Givani Smith and Danil Gushchin, plus defenseman Jack Thompson, who was recalled from the AHL on Saturday, will be scratched.
Gushchin had a minus-2 rating Thursday in just over 10 minutes of ice time.
“I thought he was just a little consistent at times, was probably trying to find his way in the first game of the year,” Warsofsky said of Gushchin, “I wouldn’t say it’s a negative he’s out of the lineup. It’s just at this time of year, we want to get some other guys in, keep guys fresh and not sitting for too long. But I envision him back the lineup here sooner rather than later.”
