Celebrini wows Blues, even in defeat, with two-point NHL debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN JOSE — Macklin Celebrini made quite an impression on Sharks fans in his NHL debut Thursday night.
He gained a few fans in the St. Louis Blues’ locker room, too.
The Sharks rookie center scored San Jose’s first goal of the season — and the first of his NHL career — then added an assist on a night that began with so much promise before an epic meltdown led to a 5-4 loss in overtime.
“He’s a special talent,” said Blues center Brayden Schenn, who scored the winning goal with just 45 seconds into the extra session. “First time anyone’s seen him in the NHL — no one has a book on him. He made nifty plays out there tonight, the spin-around pass, seam passes on the power play. He gets talked about, and you see why.”
That pretty much was the opinion that many echoed in the SAP Center halls after Celebrini easily lived up the hype that had swirled around him ever since the Sharks picked him No. 1 overall in the NHL draft in June.
Celebrini’s jersey sold at a crazy rate at souvenir stands, and fans, which included Warriors forward Draymond Green, celebrated him and chanted his name throughout the night.
The Blues weren’t cheering for the 18-year-old phenom, but they skated off the ice with a lot of respect for him.
“There’s no question why he was selected first overall,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “No question.”
St. Louis center Radek Faksa was impressed with what he saw from Celebrini, and believes the youngster has a strong future ahead of him.
“A really skilled player,” Faksa said. “He’ll be the star of the NHL. Hard to play against, lots of speed. He scored kind of a lucky [goal], but it probably helped him a lot with the confidence. It must be tough, the first game for him, lots of pressure. An unreal player.”
The Sharks are banking on exactly that.
