Celebrini Worked On This Over Summer, And It’s Helping Sharks Now

MINNEAPOLIS — Macklin Celebrini has taken off, in part, because of one change in his game.

Through the first three contests of the year, Celebrini had three assists, but just two shots on goal. You can’t score if you don’t hit the net, and the 19-year-old had zero goals.

Compare that to last season, when Celebrini led the San Jose Sharks with 236 shots in just 70 appearances.

There was talk, in national media, of a sophomore slump.

Celebrini was trying to shoot: He had 13 shot attempts in all situations through three games, but he was missing the net or getting blocked with frequency.

But on Oct. 17 in Utah, in an otherwise one-sided 6-3 San Jose Sharks’ loss, Celebrini did more than just score his first goal of the season.

Celebrini, perhaps just as importantly, had three shots on goal, more than his season total going into the game. And, on just three shot attempts.

This was an area of improvement for the San Jose Sharks star over the summer, as reported on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast.