Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on X at @Sheng_Peng.
How is Macklin Celebrini getting better?
The 2024 No.1 overall draft pick is enjoying a Calder Memorial Trophy-worthy campaign, tied for the rookie lead with 17 goals and leading with a 0.89 Points Per Game average. He’s got 40 points in just 45 games.
But he’s also impressing in the finer points of the game.
Celebrini and Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky shared subtle-but-important areas where the 18-year-old is improving.
Defense
Celebrini is trying to be just the third teenager in the last 30 years, after Connor McDavid (2015-16) and Sidney Crosby (2005-06), to average a Point Per Game in his rookie season.
San Jose Sharks
But what’s most impressive about the 18-year-old’s debut campaign may not be the offense, but the defensive improvement.
Three weeks ago, TNT studio analyst Paul Bissonnette made waves when he ripped 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard’s two-way game.
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"That is pond hockey" 😳
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 6, 2025
Biz and Ace break down Connor Bedard's play and have a lot to say about it ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mOxknvydZD
“That is pond hockey,” Bissonnette said.
It’s hard to imagine anybody ever criticizing the 2024 No. 1 overall pick in the same way.
Since he was drafted, Celebrini’s defense-first approach has been universally-praised.
“He's one of our better defensive centers. You ask coaches around the league, for an 18-year-old kid, it's remarkable,” Warsofsky said.
Watch Celebrini (71) stay with Filip Chytil (72) off the draw, then switch on Drew O’Connor (18) when appropriate, warding off a scoring chance in the slot. Keep in mind too, both Chytil and O’Connor are 6-foot-2 or bigger NHL veterans, and neither are easy to cover, especially for a teenager.
But the 18-year-old is man-strong, and perhaps most importantly, he really cares about and understands defending at the highest level.
“He's engaged. He knows what he's doing. He knows his reads. He's reading the game. He defends the middle out. He gets into people,” Warsofsky said.
Per Stathletes, Celebrini leads Sharks forwards with 2.2 Turnovers Forced at 5-on-5 Per Game. Even more remarkably, he’s sixth among NHL forwards in that category, behind veteran stars Mark Stone, Mathew Barzal, Kirill Kaprizov, Mitch Marner, and Robert Thomas.
What’s scary for the rest of the league?
According to Warsofsky, Celebrini has improved by leaps and bounds defensively this season.
“Defensively, it's not even close. The way he is defensively, where he is positionally,” Warsofsky said. “It's like light years above where he was.”
Celebrini has also just started killing penalties this season, and it’s easy to imagine the teen earning Selke Trophy consideration for best defensive forward sooner rather than later in his career.
Puck Management
If you ask Celebrini, his biggest rookie season improvement is his puck management.
“I've gotten a lot better at knowing when to put pucks in and knowing when to keep them,” Celebrini said. “That's part of my game I felt like I've gotten a lot better at throughout the year.”
For young skill forwards, defense and puck management are more often than not their greatest weaknesses.
Not in the NCAA anymore, Celebrini has had to learn the hard way that there are some plays that he shouldn’t try, especially in the neutral and defensive zones.
Celebrini (71) turns it over in neutral zone (11.14.24) pic.twitter.com/DFg3VLfjPg
— San Jose Hockey Now GIFs (@sjhockeynowGIFS) February 23, 2025
This is from Celebrini’s sixth NHL game against the New York Rangers.
“He's been a lot better with puck possession, especially in the offensive zone, in the defensive zone,” Warsofsky said.
Stylistically, some of Celebrini’s turnovers are a result of the constant offensive pressure that he tries to put on the opposition. The youngster loves whipping the puck into the offensive zone slot, hoping for a Sharks’ stick.
Celebrini (71) tries to make long slot pass (11.7.24) pic.twitter.com/xlRv6gIid8
— San Jose Hockey Now GIFs (@sjhockeynowGIFS) February 23, 2025
“Just kind of keep them on their heels, that kind of prevents them from going the other way, if you're always attacking and not really letting them set up,” Celebrini said.
Both Warsofsky and Celebrini believe more of these passes will turn into Sharks’ scoring chances as the team progresses.
“Those bounces will come,” Celebrini said. “We haven't gotten many of them, but over time, we'll get those eventually.”
Warsofsky summed it all up, revealing a study that the Sharks made over the 4 Nations break.
“We did a big thing during the break of some players in the past that have been up to his caliber, whether that's Barkov, Eichel, Stanley Cup winners that have won recently. Mack is really good at stripping and creating turnovers for himself and getting the puck back,” Warsofsky said. “The next part of his evolution as a player is not to throw so many pucks away. And not saying he does that a lot, because he's trying to create offense from it. But the percentage of that is down. And those players, if you look back at the numbers, did a really good job of lowering those numbers down in their careers as they went on.”
All this is that constant reminder: Celebrini is just 18. He’s also close to making NHL history as a teenager.
He’s still got to a lot to learn…but he’s already so good.
