{"id":504245,"date":"2026-10-22T13:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/504245\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:42:16","slug":"easy-to-follow-macklin-celebrini-navigating-1st-season-as-san-jose-sharks-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/504245\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Easy to follow’: Macklin Celebrini navigating 1st season as San Jose Sharks captain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barclay Goodrow<\/a> saw the signs long before it became official.<\/p>\n

Macklin Celebrini<\/a> walked into the San Jose Sharks<\/a>\u2019 locker room in September 2024 as the No. 1 pick at the NHL draft.<\/p>\n

The talent and potential were clear as soon as he stepped on the ice. It also didn\u2019t take long for veteran teammates to realize the workhorse centre had the \u201cit\u201d factor in another key area.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since halfway through his first year, he\u2019s been the leader of this team,\u201d said Goodrow, a 33-year-old forward with two Stanley Cup rings. \u201cIt just comes natural \u2026 you could see him slowly gaining his voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks named Celebrini their 11th full-time captain last month after putting pen to paper in July on a five-year, US$94-million contract extension that kicks in next season and carries an $18.8 million average annual value.<\/p>\n

If there was even minuscule doubt regarding his face-of-the-franchise status, that\u2019s been completely washed away.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old also has plenty of support from a group of battle-tested NHLers led by Goodrow, Tyler Toffoli<\/a>, Jacob Trouba<\/a>, Dmitry Orlov<\/a> and Darnell Nurse<\/a> as he navigates his first season with the \u201cC\u201d stitched to his jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many great veterans,\u201d said Celebrini, who headlines a young core that includes Will Smith<\/a>, Michael Misa<\/a> and Ivar Stenberg<\/a>. \u201cGuys that all of us are learning from and asking questions of. Having their experience and having their guidance, it just makes it all so easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not much has been easy for the Sharks in recent years.<\/p>\n

San Jose missed the playoffs the last seven seasons, but a roster led by Celebrini, who finished fourth in NHL scoring in 2025-26, is looking to break through with its talisman from North Vancouver, B.C. \u2014 the league\u2019s youngest current captain \u2014 setting the tone after the team\u2019s 86-point campaign fell short last spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cA leader by the way he works and prepares,\u201d head coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini. \u201cHe\u2019s got more comfortable in being who he is and leading his own way. That\u2019s something that we just felt really comfortable with. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s grown quite a bit on and off the ice \u2026 and the time\u2019s now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A free-agent addition over the summer, Trouba said the way Celebrini carries himself has impressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not running around screaming or telling everybody what to do,\u201d said the 32-year-old defenceman. \u201cIt\u2019s just how he works in practice, how he works in games. He\u2019s not hard to gravitate toward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini, who finished second behind Connor McDavid<\/a> with 10 points in six games as part of Canada\u2019s silver-medal showing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on a star-studded roster accented by Sidney Crosby<\/a> and Nathan MacKinnon<\/a>, is also a realist. <\/p>\n

The Sharks sit 5-4-1 thanks to a start that has seen blown leads, and all five of their victories requiring overtime, including Tuesday\u2019s extra-time decision over the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>, where Celebrini bagged the winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s sweet and sour,\u201d he said. \u201cCould be better, could be worse, but there\u2019s a lot of stuff we still need to build on, and that only shows just how much potential our group has.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when Celebrini speaks \u2014 just two seasons and 10 games into his NHL career \u2014 the Sharks listen.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that comes naturally to him,\u201d Goodrow said. \u201cAge, when it comes to that, it\u2019s just numbers. It helps that he\u2019s the hardest-working guy on our team. It\u2019s easy to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

DIFFERENT SITUATIONS<\/p>\n

Celebrini trained with Toronto rookie winger Gavin McKenna<\/a>, who was selected No. 1 overall in June, for a stretch during the off-season.<\/p>\n

The Sharks were in a clear rebuild when Celebrini arrived on the scene, which provided him the low-pressure opportunity to make mistakes and find his way with plenty of ice time in all situations. <\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are desperate to get back in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

McKenna played less than seven minutes in a game last week, but the 18-year-old still has three goals and three assists in 11 contests to begin his professional career alongside the likes of Auston Matthews<\/a> and William Nylander<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just different,\u201d Celebrini said when comparing the situations. \u201cWe had 20 wins our first year, so that\u2019s not fun, and no one\u2019s enjoying that. On (the Toronto) side, I think it\u2019s tough, especially with the attention that he\u2019s getting. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut over time, just being on a winning team and being surrounded by that kind of talent, it\u2019ll only help. \u201d <\/p>\n

FAST START<\/p>\n

McDavid is back filling the opposition net to open the schedule, with the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> captain putting up a jaw-dropping 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) through nine games after reaching 138 last season. His career high is 153 points, set in 2022-23.<\/p>\n

Wayne Gretzky registered four 200-plus point campaigns \u2014 the only NHL player to crack that number \u2014 including a record-setting 215 in 1985-86.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still early, but McDavid is on pace to reach 242 in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one guy that can do it, it\u2019s him,\u201d Celebrini said of cracking 200 points. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barclay Goodrow saw the signs long before it became official. Macklin Celebrini walked into the San Jose Sharks\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89,127],"class_list":["post-504245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}