Celebrini, Sharks meet at NHL Combine as he weighs turning pro
Macklin Celebrini, expected to be selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks at the NHL Draft later this month, said he had a positive meeting with general manager Mike Grier and other members of the team’s front office on Monday but added he hasn’t decided whether he’ll turn pro or return to Boston University.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Celebrini said Monday, according to NHL.com. “That’s a decision that I’m going to make a little bit later. I wish I could tell you I’ve made up my mind because that’d be a lot easier.”
Celebrini and other top prospects are participating in the NHL Combine in Buffalo, New York, this week. The Sharks are one of seven teams that Celebrini will talk to during the event, even as it’s near-certainty that San Jose will draft the 17-year-old centerman on June 28 at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Celebrini, who turns 18 on June 13, scored 64 points in 38 games as a freshman for Boston University this past season and became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to Division I hockey’s top player.
After the Sharks won the NHL Draft Lottery on May 7, Grier left little doubt that he would select Celebrini, a former Jr. Shark who was the youngest player in Division I in 2023-24.
If the Sharks draft Celebrini, they would hold his negotiation rights for up to four years.
Celebrini’s father, Dr. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ vice president of player health and performance, told reporters after the draft lottery that another season at BU for Macklin is not out of the question. Rick Celebrini said he wanted to understand what the Sharks have in mind for Macklin and hoped it could be a “win-win” for both the player and the organization.
Macklin Celebrini said he enjoyed meeting Grier, a fellow Boston University alum.
“The interview was good, it went really well,” Macklin Celebrini said Monday. “It was great to kind of meet everyone. It was a great experience. I’ve heard a lot about (Sharks) general manager Mike Grier while at Boston University, so it was good to finally meet him.”
Celebrini said the interview process at the combine is, “more about meeting people and showing the kind of person I am, I feel like that’s almost more important than the on-ice, just being a good person.
“I feel like that’s something you don’t see through videos. It’s more just interactions with people, so I think that’s something that I kind of want to show.”
Celebrini led Boston University to an appearance in the NCAA’s Frozen Four before it lost to the University of Denver in one semifinal on April 11. Denver would win the national title, beating Sharks prospect Will Smith and Boston College in the final on April 13.
Sharks fans wanting to see Celebrini in a teal uniform this fall might not have much to worry about, if Smith’s case can be used as an example.
Smith told NHL.com last month at the World Championships that his decision to leave school was “still up in the air.” However, he admitted last week after he signed his entry-level contract with San Jose that he had mostly made up his mind about turning pro before he left for Europe to play for Team USA and wanted to sign the three-year deal while around his family.
Celebrini was initially going to play for Canada at the Worlds but was replaced on the roster by NHL players. He said he’s been skating regularly in his hometown of Vancouver.
“I have a group there that I skate with,” he said, “and then I just started my offseason strength and conditioning program.”