Macklin Celebrini finally got to put on a Sharks jersey on Friday after San Jose officially selected him with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
The 18-year-old centre has been tight-lipped about his future since the Sharks won the NHL Draft Lottery on May 7, but just about everyone else knew this was going to be the outcome.
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Shortly after the Sharks selected Celebrini, he told NBC Sports California’s Brodie Brazile what the moment felt like.
“It really doesn’t seem real,” Celebrini told Brazil. “I don’t think I could have expected this, I couldn’t have planned it, I couldn’t have prepared myself for this moment. It’s an amazing opportunity and an amazing experience.”
Celebrini joins a promotion-chasing Sharks team after a tough few seasons.
For the 2024 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner, the challenge of being at the forefront of San Jose’s rebuild won’t be daunting.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Celebrini told Brazil. “They’re building a great foundation for great success in the future and I’m fortunate to be a part of it. I can’t wait to see where this group ultimately goes.”
Macklin, the son of Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini, is no stranger to the Bay Area as his family owns a home in Livermore.
As Celebrini’s star began to rise, he gained a growing number of fans among the Warriors, including star forward Draymond Green, who attended Macklin’s junior hockey games in Chicago.
“My dad always asks me about my matches and how I’m doing. Their support and interest in our sport and in us is so great, so I hope it continues,” Celebrini told Brazil.
Rick spoke with Brazile later that night and explained why it would be beneficial for his sons to spend time around the Warriors.
“Especially coming as a family, it was a very influential age for the older kids, and I think the younger ones were a little younger, but I think they all benefited from seeing the environment that Bob Myers and Steve Kerr created,” Rick Celebrini told Brazil. “It was a welcoming environment, but also an elite environment, a championship environment. And you got to see that core group at that point in their careers, the way they approached their craft, the dedication, the commitment, the intensity of their training. I think that’s something that every young athlete should experience.”
Celebrini acknowledged there are similarities between what the Sharks are trying to do – building a championship contender through the draft – and what the Warriors did more than a decade ago as they developed a core of Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
“I didn’t know that until you said that,” Celebrini told Brazil, “but it’s eerily similar. It’s a lovely coincidence.”
Even Rick can’t help but see the parallels between what the Warriors did and what the Sharks are building now.
“When I found out San Jose was a contender, I did a little research and looked at their pipeline of young players,” Rick told Brazil. “They acquired Will Smith last year and have a really exciting group of players, and now we’re fortunate to have Macklin join that group. I feel like they’re gaining momentum and excitement.”
“[SAP Center] It was one of the toughest places to play. You were there in the heyday, and I’ve talked to a lot of people around the league, and I can’t say enough good things about the environment that was created there. And I hope that they’ll put in the effort to create that again, and I really feel that they will.”
Celebrini is expected to be the face of a new generation of Sharks hockey, and with that comes great responsibility, and he knows his teammates will eventually look to him for guidance.
“I see myself as someone who leads by example,” Celebrini told Brazil. “I try my best to lead by example, but I also try to speak up and point out things that I notice. I feel like I lead mainly with my play, with what I do on the ice.”
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