Sharks Could Sit Macklin Celebrini Against Flyers

Similar to Will Smith, the San Jose Sharks could sit 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini for a development day against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight.

Similar to Will Smith, the San Jose Sharks could sit 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini for a development day against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight. 

Tonight marks the center's first chance at playing on back-to-back nights in his NHL career. Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said the team is still deciding the lineup. 

Smith has played in 12 games this season but has always sat out one of the Sharks' two games during a back-to-back situation. 

Despite Celebrini missing 12 games this season, Warsofsky wouldn't explain further if the 18-year-old's development plan had changed. 

"I'm not going to get into the plan," Warsofsky said. "He's here with us, and we're not going to get into the plan."

San Jose has won five of its last seven games and has looked more structured every night. So, does Celebrini hurt the team's chances of winning? Warsofsky says it is a balance. 

"I think we've played really well when we have him, and I think we've played really well when we don't have him," Warsofsky said. "This is the National Hockey League; you want to win, right? I mean, I can go on and on with the list of things, so there's definitely an idea of making sure he's comfortable. But at the end of the day, this league is about winning, and we got to make sure whoever's in the lineup, our goal is to win the hockey game that night."

Jake Walman won't play in his fourth straight game, third due to an upper-body injury. 

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