SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini reached his latest milestone in most impressive fashion.
Celebrini scored a spin-o-rama goal as part of a four-point night that made him the fastest San Jose player to reach 50 points in a season as the Sharks beat the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Tuesday.
“He’s incredible,” teammate Barclay Goodrow said. “It seems like every night he does something that just makes you say, ‘Wow.' At this point, it’s not surprising,
but it still is surprising. He proves each and every night why he’s one of the best players in the league."
The numbers Celebrini is putting up are staggering, especially as a 19-year-old in just his second NHL season. He has 18 goals and 33 assists through San Jose's first 34 games after recording two goals and two assists against the Flames.
He reached the 50-point mark three games faster than any other Sharks player. The only other teenagers to get there faster are two of the greatest in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.
“He’s a special one, for sure,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Every time you think he’s going to maybe slow down and maybe hit a speed bump, he doesn’t. He just keeps going. You can see he had legs early tonight. He’s obviously a very special individual.”
Celebrini assisted on two goals in the first period, including a pinpoint pass to John Klingberg that set up the first one, and played a strong game at both ends of the ice all night.
But it was his breathtaking move early in the third that was truly jaw dropping. Celebrini took a pass from Collin Graf, spun without breaking stride and put a shot on net that Dustin Wolf initially saved before the puck bounced off Celebrini's hip and went in.
“It’s kind of just a reaction,” Celebrini said. “I mean, Graffer made a good play on the wall to kind of intercept it and then just found me in the middle. It was just kind of reactionary, but it was a little lucky. It goes off my hip.”
Celebrini capped the game with an empty-net goal that sealed San Jose's 17th win. The young Sharks are currently in playoff position after finishing last in the league the past two seasons.
San Jose won only 20 games in Celebrini's rookie season, and didn't reach 17 until the 63rd game.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s enjoyable to be around the rink when you’re winning and you’re playing well as a group and you just kind of feed off it. It’s more fun when you are winning.”
Celebrini is the biggest reason for the turnaround.
His high level of play has earned him respect around the league and made a case for his inclusion on the Canadian Olympic team.
“Everyone sees it,” Goodrow said. “He’s one of the best. He has the ability to put a team on his back. He competes as hard as he can, each and every shift. He’s a leader. He does a lot for us.”
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