He passes, he scores.
Seven minutes into the first period of his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks, star rookie Macklin Celebrini of North Vancouver recorded his first goal in professional hockey.
During his team’s season opener Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues at the SAP Centre in San Jose, Calif., Celebrini spun around deep in the offensive zone, seeming to attempt a backhand pass to teammate William Eklund.
Instead, the puck went off the skate of St. Louis defenceman Matthew Kessel and past Blues goalie Joel Hofer to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
As the goal horn blasted, Celebrini erupted with emotion, celebrating with his teammates and Sharks fans in the raucous arena.
Scoring off his first shot in the NHL, the goal solidified the 18-year-old as the youngest player in San Jose history to get a goal in his professional hockey debut.
Watching from box seats above was Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green, who was wearing a Celebrini jersey in support of the rookie centre.
“MACKLIN!!!!! Unreal,” the basketball player posted on X.
There’s history there. Macklin’s dad Rick Celebrini works with Green as director of sports medicine and performance for the Warriors.
In June, the San Jose Sharks selected Macklin Celebrini as the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft. That move surprised no one, as Celebrini had just come off a season with Boston University that saw him become the youngest player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award – honouring the top player in NCAA Div. 1 hockey.
The Sharks lost Thursday’s game to St. Louis 5-4 in overtime.
