Macklin Celebrini's Ties To San Jose Make Sharks First Overall Pick Even More Special
With the San Jose Sharks having the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Macklin Celebrini will mean more than just the franchise's first No. 1 pick.
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports - Macklin Celebrini's Ties To San Jose Make Sharks First Overall Pick Even More SpecialWith the San Jose Sharks having the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Macklin Celebrini will mean more than just the franchise's first No. 1 pick.
Celebrini's father, Rick, works for the Golden State Warriors. He resides in Livermore, California, about 40 minutes by car from San Jose. Although Macklin was born in Vancouver, Canada, he played for the Sharks junior hockey organization, the San Jose Jr. Sharks.
He played for the Jr. Sharks 14AAA team during the 2019-20 season, putting up 95 points (49 goals, 45 assists) in 54 games. He eventually moved on to Shattuck St. Mary's 14U AAA. He then went to the Chicago Steel and finally to Boston University.
"It is huge for hockey in San Jose. It's given these kids who are playing youth hockey someone who will look up to and say, I can possibly be that kid down the road who was a junior shark and made it to the NHL," Sharks GM Mike Grier said. "So it's a big day for hockey in San Jose and hockey in California. It's not easy to play hockey out here. This kind of shows if you're driven and you put the time and the work in, then anything's possible."
Since the Sharks arrived in the NHL in 1991, San Jose has begun to produce more NHL-quality players. This season, we saw the remarkable story of Devin Cooley. Cooley was undrafted and from the San Jose area, Los Gatos, to be exact. He had his special moment when he earned his first career win against the St. Louis Blues.
Defenseman Matt Tennyson was the first player to graduate from the Jr. Sharks youth hockey program and play for the San Jose Sharks.
Celebrini will be the first No. 1 overall pick in San Jose Sharks history. The fact that he is a homegrown player makes it that much more special.
"It keeps pushing us forward. I think we'll get a good player at 14, and then we think we're gonna get a real good player at 33, too. So these players, along with the two picks in next year's draft, and you go back to Bystedt a couple of years ago, these guys, they're going to be a part hopefully of our young core here for a long time and hopefully, they get to grow together, play together and win a lot of games together," Grier said about the effect that this draft has on the team's future.
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