Celebrini’s high-octane offense has spurred the Sharks into a potential playoff team. The peach-faced forward, who turns 20 on June 13, effortlessly has ignored the dreaded “sophomore slump” while averaging more than a point a game (81 points; 28 goals, 53 assists in 54 games). He leads the Sharks (27-23-4) into a litmus test against the Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best record in the NHL (36-9-9), at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, ALT), their last game before he travels to Milano for the Olympics.
A portent of things to come became available when Celebrini completed a hat trick by scoring a power-play goal at 2:52 of overtime for a 3-2 home win against the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 18. He then tied Sidney Crosby (55 in 2006-07) for the most points by a teenager entering the holiday break during a 7-2 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 23.
“He’s really good,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. “He works really hard. I like that about him. His work ethic and passion for the game, you can see it. He’s playing really well.”
The kid’s arresting efforts bring to mind an earlier Sharks scoring hero, Joe Thornton, nicknamed “Jumbo” because of his 6-foot-4, 219 fuselage and the fact that famed circus star Jumbo the Elephant died in St. Thomas, Ontario, where Thornton was raised.
Unlike Celebrini’s cyclonic start, Thornton’s rookie season (1997-98) was a downer, but gradually — without much fuss or fanfare — he became an idol.
“Joe was a terrific player and a very good teammate,” Mike O’Connell, a retired NHL defenseman who later became Boston Bruins general manager, told ESPN.com on Dec. 9, 2015. “When you really come down to it, being a good teammate is probably the nicest thing you can say about someone.”