As Sharks’ preseason nears end, Macklin Celebrini believes he’ll play soon

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is no longer wearing a non-contact jersey and said he’s close to playing again as the team’s preseason starts to wind down.

Celebrini took the next step in his recovery from an undisclosed illness on Wednesday by practicing without any restrictions with a smaller group of players, as the Sharks made another round of cuts to their training camp roster.

Celebrini will not play in Wednesday’s exhibition against the Anaheim Ducks, but appears on track to play in one of the Sharks’ final two preseason games, either Friday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights or Saturday in Utah against the Mammoth.

“It sucks being out, not participating as much as I wanted to. Things happen, and you’ve just got to kind of deal with it,” Celebrini said Wednesday. “But I’m excited for the start of the year and can’t wait to actually start playing games.”

Celebrini skated in an orange non-contact jersey on Tuesday and has, in recent days, remained out of the team’s most physical drills. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky has said Celebrini would need to practice without any restrictions before he could play in a game.

“Obviously good to get the orange jersey off,” Warsofsky said, “and we’ll see how he progresses.

“He looks like a Ferrari out there.”

Celebrini was also unavailable to play in the Sharks’ first three preseason games but is expected to start the year as the Sharks’ top-line center with Will Smith on the right wing. Although he and Smith played together last season, Celebrini has so far missed a chance to develop familiarity and timing with some of his new teammates in a game setting.

The host of new faces in San Jose includes forwards Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, Ryan Reaves, and Philipp Kurashev, and defensemen John Klingberg, Dmitry Orlov, and Nick Leddy. Center Michael Misa, drafted second overall by the Sharks in June, and defenseman Sam Dickinson, a 2024 first-round pick, are also vying for roster spots.

“Just the more games you get to play, the more timing and even chemistry you can build with new guys, like our new defenseman and new forwards,” Celebrini said. “We have a bunch of new forwards we’re going to be playing with, so it’s just building chemistry and starting to get familiar with guys. It’s tough to do that in practice.”

The Sharks will finalize their season-opening 23-man roster after Saturday’s game. They open the season next Thursday at home against the Golden Knights.

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