SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks began selling Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith jerseys after each player signed their entry-level contracts. Both players were prominently featured on the team’s social media accounts all offseason, used in part to help galvanize a fanbase that’s been starved for a winner.
“I’m excited. I know the fans are excited,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “You drive around, and you feel the buzz.”
The reasons are obvious. Celebrini and Smith are the Sharks’ two best prospects in a generation, gifted players considered future franchise cornerstones.
But they’ll also likely face some adversity in their rookie NHL seasons, especially on a Sharks team that’s expected to finish at or near the bottom of the standings once again.
What happens if they go five or six games without a point, possibly for the first time in their lives? What if one of their turnovers costs the Sharks a win, or if they see their ice time cut back?
The best hockey league in the world can be humbling at times for a teenager, even ones as highly touted as Celebrini and Smith — maybe more from a mental standpoint than a physical one.
“I think you’ve just got to be there for them,” Sharks forward Luke Kunin said. “You’ve got to maybe share experiences that we’ve gone through. All of us were that young guy at some point in our careers. We all battle some obstacles, a little bit of adversity.”
“It’s going to be an 82-game schedule. It’s playing against grown men every day,” said Sharks forward William Eklund, who played NHL games as a 19-year-old. “You’ve got to manage that and how to be prepared mentally and physically.
“But (Celebrini’s) such a great player. He knows what it’s all about.”
After the Sharks won the draft lottery, earning the right to select Celebrini No. 1 overall, general manager Mike Grier mentioned the need to bring in the right type of veteran players to insulate the upcoming crop of prospects, both on the ice and off.
After the lottery, Rick Celebrini, Macklin’s dad, also mentioned that he wanted to hear what the Sharks had planned to support his son.
Grier responded by signing free agents Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg to help fill out the top-six forward group and acquiring other veterans like Barclay Goodrow, Ty Dellandrea, Cody Ceci, and Jake Walman to add depth and make the Sharks a more well-rounded team.
If he stays healthy, Celebrini can become the second Sharks player to capture the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year after goalie Evgeni Nabokov won the award in 2001.
Celebrini has already been compared to Jonathan Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks and 2013 winner of the Selke Trophy as the best two-way forward in the NHL.
So, how do the Sharks manage the excitement and expectations for Celebrini’s rookie season while also trying to set him up for long-term success?
“It’s hopefully (the media) not putting too much pressure on him, and myself and the coaches and his teammates also letting him know that he’s not in this alone,” Grier said of Celebrini. “He doesn’t have to carry the team. There’s going to be ups and downs. It’s a tough league. It’s the best league in the world for a reason.
“I’m sure he’s going to have his struggles, and we’ve just got to let him know that that’s part of becoming a pro and part of the ups and downs and growing as a player. I think we’ll get through it fine. He holds himself to a high standard and expects a lot of himself.”
Smith, the fourth overall pick in 2023, led all NCAA Division I players in scoring last season with 71 points in 41 games for Boston College. Celebrini wasn’t far behind with 64 points in 38 games for Boston University as he became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player.
But even the best college players can have difficulties.
Adam Fantilli had a 65-point freshman season for Michigan in 2022-23 before he was selected third overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In one stretch in November last season, Fantilli had one point in nine games and was shut out in seven of his final nine games before he sustained a season-ending calf laceration on Jan. 28.
Celebrini and Smith have never played a full 82-game season with the travel demands a West Coast NHL team has to endure. Practice time can be precious.
“There tends to be a little bit of a honeymoon period almost, where everything’s very exciting, and you feel good, and your body feels good,” said Sharks center Nico Sturm, who played three years at Clarkson University before turning pro in 2019. “Then maybe December, January, February rolls around, you’re 50, 60 games in … and sometimes you tend to hit a wall in your first pro hockey year.
“And we’ll be there. We have plenty of (veterans) to help those guys. I think that’s more what we’re here for. The stuff on the ice, they’ll be fine.”
Off the ice, Celebrini and Smith have found ideal living quarters. Celebrini is about to move in with Joe Thornton, and Smith plans to move in with Patrick Marleau.
Besides being Sharks legends, Marleau and Thornton have been through the same situations as Celebrini and Smith, having broken into the NHL well before their 20th birthdays.
For now, there’s every reason for the Sharks — and their fans — to be excited.
“It’s the same game I’ve played ever since I was a kid, just having fun, enjoying it,” Celebrini said. “I think the expectations are there. I have those for myself, and you can’t really focus too much on them.”
