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 Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
LOS ANGELES — Sharks prospect Macklin Celebrini looked like he was a level above the rest of the competition in his Rookie Faceoff debut on Friday at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.
And well, he should, as the 2024 No. 1 overall pick coming into a prospects tournament.
But regardless, it was a good sign for the Sharks that Celebrini stepped right in to lead the team to a 3-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club in his first true game action in teal.
And it wasn’t just his power play goal, off a bullet shot, which tied the contest at two apiece midway through the third period.
Celebrini controlled the tempo of the game almost every time that he was on the ice.
He took pucks from Utah players on multiple occasions, going from defense to offense with hair-on-fire rushes.
He almost always was on top of the puck defensively, and rarely let his man behind him.
He played with pace offensively, moving the puck decisively.
The final score was too close for comfort for the Sharks, but it felt like Utah hardly touched the puck whenever Celebrini was on the ice.
“Puck’s on his stick almost every time he’s on the ice, right? He controls the play when he’s on the ice,” head coach John McCarthy said. “He obviously sees the ice very well. I was very impressed with Celebrini’s competitiveness on loose pucks.”
Ethan Cardwell, who scored the game-winner and led the Sharks himself with tone-setting physicality, was every bit as impressed.
“He’s an incredible player,” the alternate captain said. “He plays with so much pace. He sees the ice well. I was getting passes I didn’t think could come through in certain spots. So he really opens up the ice for all the other players out there. You got to be head on a swivel and be ready, because he’ll make a pass that nobody’s expecting.”
What’s scary for the rest of the NHL? Celebrini believes that he has a lot more to give.
“It was my first game, so I didn’t think I was very good. There’s still some wrinkles,” Celebrini said. “I thought we played well.”
As the teenager himself noted, this game was about more than one player.
Besides having the best prospect in the world in Celebrini, the Sharks also brought 2024 first-rounder Sam Dickinson, 2023 first-rounders Will Smith and Quentin Musty, 2022 first-rounder Filip Bystedt and more to Rookie Faceoff.
Celebrini or not, it felt like San Jose controlled the play for most of the afternoon.
This isn’t even including defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, who won’t be playing in the Rookie Faceoff because of what McCarthy termed “general soreness,” and Yaroslav Askarov, arguably the top goaltending prospect in the world.
Mukhamadullin, by the way, is expected to be ready for the beginning of training camp next Thursday.
There’s a reason why Elite Prospects recently named the Sharks the best prospects pool in the NHL.
This is 2021 fourth-rounder Cardwell’s fourth rookie tourney with the Sharks, and he can see it.
“You can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel here,” Cardwell said. “For sure, the prospect pool is amazing, and you see these guys play with so much skill and confidence these days.”
So is this the first of many wins for the new era of the Sharks?
“Yeah,” Smith said with a grin.
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