LOS ANGELES — If you want to learn about Macklin Celebrini, don’t ask Macklin Celebrini.

“He took over that game there,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said, after Celebrini, with 1:07 left in the game, scored the unassisted game-tying goal, then assisted on William Eklund’s OT winner.

The OT winner
Jim Fox, on the broadcast: “From that point on, you’re dead.”https://t.co/DAEAsAMExm

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 8, 2026

Naturally, that’s not how Celebrini described his game-tying goal: “[They] tried to rim it out and [I] tried to keep in and then try to make a play.”

That was a little more than “a play”.

“He just danced that guy,” Eklund said. “Enough can’t be said about [Celebrini].”

Eklund added, about his game-winner: “Obviously, if you’re open, Mack is gonna find you.”

The San Jose Sharks have a confidence that they haven’t had in years, and a lot of it is because of the Notorious H.U.M.B.L.E..

“The stuff that he does on the ice, and the way he competes, the skills and what he does, his God-given talent, is one thing,” Warsofsky said, “but the way he drags our players into the fight, that’s what special players do, and that’s what’s most impressive to me.”

Celebrini has done more than drag his 22-18-3 team, first wild card spot, into the playoff fight. He’s dragged the entire organization into it, changing the timeline for the rebuild.

Celebrini turning a loss into a win in Los Angeles is a microcosm of that.

The San Jose Sharks have, ahead of schedule, one of the best players in the world. You have to plan accordingly and get the 19-year-old help right now.

That’s as good as reason as any that there are rumors the Sharks are looking to add a veteran scorer like Kiefer Sherwood. Or why San Jose chose to re-sign pending UFA Alex Wennberg, instead of dangling him for a top pick or prospect.

Getting Celebrini more help two years from now — perhaps the plan before — is wasting two years of his prime.

“Sitting with the coaches in there, it’s the first time in my four years, where there’s this emotion in our locker room. It’s hard to even put into words, the feeling that we get after that type of game, that emotional win. But there’s some real good stuff going on right now,” Warsofsky, who was an assistant coach under previous Sharks head coach David Quinn from 2022 to 2024, said. “We’re definitely making steps in the right direction of where we want to get to as an organization. And credit to the group that they’ve put in the work. They understand how we want to play. They just stick with it. They don’t give up. But the feeling in that locker room is pretty special.”

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on if he has any more words to describe Celebrini:

I mean, he just keeps impressing us and impressing us and getting better and better, and he took over that game there. Makes a hell of a play on the 6-on-5. He’s definitely turning into a superstar right before our eyes, that’s for sure.

Warsofsky, on Eklund: “Eky was really good again tonight. I thought he was good last night. We’re starting to see the guy we saw there in training camp and early part of the season before his injuries.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 8, 2026

Macklin Celebrini

Celebrini: “It’s a different kind of swagger and feeling in our group.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 8, 2026

William Eklund

Eklund, on Celebrini’s game-tying strike:

I was just so focused on getting open for him, and he just danced that guy. Enough can’t be said about this guy.

Adam Gaudette

Gaudette, on the San Jose Sharks’ defensive effort:

They’re a good team. They got a lot of good players on their team, and they gel really well together. They zip the puck around the O-zone. I think defensively, we did a pretty good job tonight. We’re going to keep harping on that.