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When news broke of the San Jose Sharks shelving NHL rookie Macklin Celebrini on the injured reserve, there was equal parts amazement and disappointment.
On the one hand, after just a single game with the Sharks and playing through a hip injury, Celebrini revived the spirits of the Sharks faithful with a two-point NHL debut. That included a highlight-reel-worthy goal and an equally impressive no-look assist on Tyler Toffoli’s tally.
He surpassed all expectations in his first crack at the big leagues and created a massive early lead in the Calder Trophy race.
But on the other hand, after just one game with the Sharks, Celebrini is already missing games due to an injury he sustained in a pre-season game against Utah. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and sanjosehockeynow.com’s Sheng Peng reported on Saturday that it’s a hip injury.
“I can’t put a timeline on it, to be honest with you,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters. “I think week-to-week is right around where we’re thinking. We’ll just see how it progresses through his rehab here the next couple days.”
Celebrini’s presence will be sorely missed by the offense-starved Sharks, who were shut out 2-0 in their second game by the lowly Anaheim Ducks. That said, there’s an NHL award up for grabs that Celebrini has a good chance of winning, but things could change if the rookie misses too much time.
With one of the most highly anticipated rookie crops in recent memory this season, will Celebrini’s early grip on the Calder Trophy slip away?
If we look at recent history, the answer is generally ‘no.’
Related: NHL Calder Trophy Tracker: Michkov, Celebrini Highlight Exciting Rookies In 2024-25
Just last year, Connor Bedard only played 68 games after suffering a fractured jaw. Nonetheless, Bedard easily beat out Calder finalists Luke Hughes and Brock Faber with his 61-point campaign.
It’s unfair to compare anyone to Connor McDavid, but the fellow first-overall pick had his season massively shortened to just 45 games in 2015-16. All he did was score 48 points en route to a second-place finish in Calder voting behind 24-year-old Artemi Panarin. Had there not been a rookie in the field so advanced in age, 19-year-old McDavid easily had the Calder in the bag.
Kirill Kaprizov won the Calder Trophy in 2021 despite suiting up for just 55 games. The knock against this example is that, like Panarin, Kaprizov was also 24 years old as a rookie.
The competition is important to factor in. For Bedard, McDavid and Kaprizov, the next-best finishers were Brock Faber, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jason Robertson. They were all quality players to varying degrees, some still developing but clearly in lower tiers than the first three.
It’s tricky to compare the quality of competition in this year’s Calder race without the benefit of hindsight, but the impression of this year’s batch is that there are some very promising NHL rookies who could be franchise cornerstones.
Headlining the group to start the season was the Philadelphia Flyers’ Matvei Michkov, who many see as the true Calder favorite over Celebrini due to an apparent NHL readiness after playing in the KHL. He notched his first NHL point on an assist in Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames.
Then there’s the Montreal Canadiens’ Lane Hutson, who has already excited fans with his vision, skating and playmaking ability. That’s translated into four assists in his first three games, leading all rookies in points. It’s rare to see an offensive D-man of Hutson’s caliber in the Calder race.
Out west, there’s Logan Stankoven, an underrated and undersized forward with three points in his first two games. He’s the most NHL-experienced Calder candidate, having played 43 regular-season and playoff games with the Dallas Stars last year.
The Devils’ Seamus Casey has also emerged as a dark-horse candidate with two goals from the blueline early on. He’s receiving some power-play minutes behind New Jersey’s top unit while Luke Hughes is injured.
Related: NHL Writers Poll: Predicting The Stanley Cup Champion And Major Award Winners In 2024-25
If Michkov picks up some steam, this year’s class could shape up to be an offensive juggernaut compared to other years.
If that’s the case, Celebrini probably can’t afford to play in fewer than 70 games. Celebrini is out for at least one week, but week-to-week makes a return anyone’s guess. If he misses as many as three weeks, he will miss nine games for the Sharks, assuming he’s back in the lineup on Nov. 2 against the Vancouver Canucks, his hometown team.
In all likelihood, Celebrini’s back in the lineup long before then, and none of this matters. But if the weeks stretch out and other NHL rookies catch fire, Celebrini’s case for the Calder may start to lag.
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