San Jose Sharks provide upbeat update on Macklin Celebrini
SAN JOSE — Injured center Macklin Celebrini appeared as spry as ever Thursday morning as he rejoined the San Jose Sharks for on-ice drills, but it remains unclear when the 18-year-old wunderkind will be ready to play again.
Celebrini has not played since the Sharks’ season opener on Oct. 10, when he had a goal and an assist against the St. Louis Blues in his dazzling NHL debut. However, he had a recurrence of a hip issue that he had dealt with since training camp that night and was placed on injured reserve by the Sharks on Oct. 12.
Celebrini resumed skating over a week ago and was seen on the ice for over two hours on Tuesday. On Thursday, he skated with the team and remained on the ice with other Sharks players who were set to be healthy scratches for that night’s game against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Our trainers do a really good job, and that was the next step today,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said after the morning skate, “and we’ll take tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Still, the Sharks will be patient with Celebrini’s recovery to help him get past the injury once and for all, as his status remains week-to-week.
“As part of his rehabilitation plan, Macklin will return to team activities today,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “He has made positive progress over the past several weeks, and this will be the next step toward returning to the active roster.
“We will continue to monitor his progress, but no date has yet been set for his return to game action.”
The Sharks (2-7-2) lost their first eight games without Celebrini in the lineup but bounced back to win their last two before Thursday, including a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Celebrini was selected first overall by the Sharks at the NHL Draft in June, and Bedard was taken No. 1 overall by the Blackhawks last year. Bedard led all rookies with 61 points last season before he was voted the Calder Trophy winner.
Fans who had looked forward to Celebrini’s and Bedard’s matchup will now have to wait at least until March 13, when the Blackhawks return to SAP Center.
“Obviously, he’s an extremely important player. You saw it in the first game,” Sharks center Nico Sturm said of Celebrini. “And I’m sure he wants to get into a rhythm finally. It’s already almost November, and he probably wants to feel what it’s like to play three, four games every week.”
Celebrini was initially hurt during training camp last month, leaving midway through a Sept. 24 practice. He returned to practice the next day and played in an Oct. 1 preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club.
Macklin Celebrini moving around pretty well, it seems, this morning pic.twitter.com/Z6c0HGLueD
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) October 31, 2024
But Celebrini had to leave the game midway through the second period after he was tripped on a partial breakaway and fell hard into the end boards, exacerbating the injury.
The start of next month for the Sharks includes games against Celebrini’s hometown Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, and Minnesota Wild on Nov. 7. The Sharks hope to use the homestand to climb back closer to a .500 record after a 0-7-2 start.
Once Celebrini does return, the Sharks have a plan for him and fellow rookie Will Smith. To mitigate the risk of more injuries, they’ll be given scheduled games off throughout the rest of the first half of the season.
Grier last week wouldn’t reveal if there will be a pattern to the built-in games off for both players, but the absences will be enough to help Celebrini and Smith, 19, adjust to an 82-game NHL season after playing half as many games at the NCAA level last year.
On days when Celebrini and Smith are not playing, they’ll be in the gym trying to improve their strength and conditioning and doing skill development drills on the ice.
“It’s all part of player development,” Grier said last week. “The league’s a little different now. You have to continue to develop your players while they’re in the NHL, where, in the past, that probably wasn’t the case quite as much.
“It’s what we think is best for them to keep growing as players and as individuals.”