Macklin Celebrini can feel a different anticipation around town for this San Jose Sharks season.

Celebrini, back in San Jose for about three weeks or so, shared on the first day of training camp, “Walking around, talking to people, people coming up to us on the street, just saying how excited they are about the season. We didn’t really get that the last couple years, so it’s cool to see the excitement from the fans.”

The 20-year-old superstar is arguably the main driver for this excitement, and also, last year’s massive improvement in the standings. Celebrini had a sophomore campaign to remember, setting a franchise single-season record with 115 points, and finishing fourth in the Hart Trophy voting. He was also a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award.

There are now higher expectations for the San Jose Sharks and Celebrini, and he’s ready for them.

“Make the playoffs. That’s what we’re focused on,” Celebrini said. “There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of growing to do. But I think, ultimately, that’s what we’re striving for.”

So how will the Sharks snap their seven-straight season playoff drought?

Warsofsky says that Celebrini was actively telling his teammates to come back to San Jose sooner this summer to train

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) September 17, 2026

In August, Macklin Celebrini pointed foremost to cutting down the goals against.

“We created a lot of offense last year, but letting in goals off mistakes and kind of mental errors hurt us,” he said. “So I think the more we can keep the puck out of our net, I think the better spot we’ll be in.”

Last year, the San Jose Sharks scored 3.04 Goals Per Game, 17th in the NHL, but surrendered 3.54 Goals Against Per Game, third-worst in the league.

Celebrini shouldered the blame for much of this, and it’s also the No. 1 thing that he wants to improve in his game.

“I turned the puck over a lot last year, and some of that goes into decision-making, being smart with the puck, and not making those high-risk plays all the time,” he acknowledged.

Celebrini, of course, has the puck more than other Shark, so naturally, he’s going to have more turnovers than the average player. But when you’re talking about an already elite talent, these three-to-five percent improvements in his game can make a huge difference.

And Celebrini knows it.

“It’s just that responsibility with the puck, understanding situations and timing in the game,” he said. “I think that we still are a really young group, and that’s what our coaches have tried to preach on us is understanding the time and place for some of those plays.”

Celebrini, as a good leader should, took the blame on himself, but indeed, it’s as much on him as it is the rest of the team, to sharpen these details that will make or break their playoff quest.

In today’s training camp availabilty, Celebrini also spoke on his recent interview with “Off Campus” actor Belmont Cameli, fun with Tyler Toffoli in a recent “NHL 27” promotion, Ethan Cardwell moving in, and more.