At this stage of his second season in the NHL, it seems like every single time that Macklin Celebrini steps on the ice at the SAP Center, he accomplishes something incredible.
On Wednesday night, Celebrini recorded his fifth game of the season with four or more points.
In the first period, Celebrini assisted Will Smith’s goal to officially pass Erik Karlsson for the second-most points in a season by a member of the Sharks, registering his 102nd point of the campaign.
In the third period, Celebrini then went on to score a pair of game-tying goals, the second of which was his 40th goal of the season. He’s only the fifth Shark to ever reach the 40-goal plateau. Celebrini joined some elite company as well, considering the other players to achieve the milestone are Jonathan Cheechoo, Owen Nolan, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski.
It would take quite a goal-scoring streak for Celebrini to break Cheechoo's record of 56 goals in a season, nearly two goals per game, but second place is certainly in reach. Nolan and Marleau are currently tied for second with 44 goals, making it highly likely that Celebrini surpasses them this season.
Celebrini is the first player in two-and-a-half decades to record 40 goals and 40 assists as a member of the Sharks, and only the second player to ever achieve it. Owen Nolan first recorded that milestone during the 1999-00 season per Josh Frojlein of San Jose Hockey Now.
On the assist front, Celebrini has already recorded the seventh most assists in a season by a Shark. Joe Thornton appears in the top five four times though. Celebrini's 65 assists put him just two behind Brent Burns, who had 67 assists during the 2018-19 season, for sixth.
Although Celebrini won't come anywhere near Thornton's record of 92 assists from the 2006-07 season, he could realistically pass Erik Karlsson's second-place figure of 76 points. It would take quite a playmaking hot streak for Celebrini to pull it off though.
With nine games left to play, Celebrini is closing in on one of Thornton's records though. He currently needs nine points to tie Thornton’s record for most points in a single season with 114.
When asked about the possibility of breaking the points record after the game, Celebrini said that he’s “not really thinking about it” and then turned the focus to the team’s playoff push.
It’s safe to say that Celebrini is the biggest reason the Sharks have massively exceeded exactions though. Josh Dubow of the Associated Press found a statistic that clearly shows Celebrini’s ability to lead his team to success:
As a 19 year old, Celebrini is already rewriting the Sharks’ history books. Last night, he also passed Evander Kane for the 21st most points by a Shark in franchise history. He has quite a way to catch Marleau in that regard, “Mr. Shark” finished his career with 1,111 points for the team in teal, but it seems as though Celebrini is well on his way.