Macklin Celebrini had just finished his first practice back with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday – fresh off an unforgettable Olympic experience – when he entered a room buzzing with cameras and reporters.
“Most media we’ve had. Ever,” Celebrini said. “Starting to feel like a Canadian market.”
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It was a reflection of his soaring popularity. Celebrini’s record-setting performance at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics – capped by a gold medal game watched by tens of millions – has elevated his profile both in the Bay Area and across the NHL.
Roughly a dozen news outlets attended the Sharks’ practice on Wednesday, more than usual, as Celebrini skated with his teammates for the first time since returning from Italy late Monday night. Some local media were at a Sharks practice for the first time this season, highlighting the team’s growing relevance and Celebrini’s status as one of the Bay Area’s most recognizable sports figures.
Thursday’s game against the Calgary Flames, kicking off a six-game homestand, was trending toward a sellout of 17,435. Tickets are also scarce and pricey for San Jose’s weekend matchups against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, and against goalie Connor Hellebuyck – who made 41 saves for Team USA in the gold medal game – and the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
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The Sharks have already sold out 12 of 26 home games this season, after drawing capacity crowds in 15 of 41 games at SAP Center last season.
“This was the goal,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Not to talk to this many media people, but the goal was to get the energy back in the building and get people talking about the Sharks again, and I think the players did a great job of doing that.
“This homestand is going to be pretty much sold out,” Warsofsky added. “Crowds and people are going to be excited to see our team play again.”
Even as Celebrini embraced being back in San Jose, there was still a lingering bitterness from how the Olympic tournament ended.
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Playing alongside some of the game’s greatest players, including McDavid, Celebrini tallied five goals in six games, and his 10 points made him the highest-scoring teenager in an Olympics featuring NHL talent.
Yet despite his success, there remained a sense of disappointment. Canada fell to the United States in the gold medal game at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, with the final coming down to 3-on-3 overtime. New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes scored the decisive goal, handing the Americans a 2-1 victory and their first men’s Olympic gold since 1980.
For anyone assuming Celebrini had moved past the heartbreak, think again.
“A lot of those guys I looked up to my whole childhood, and it was an honor play with them and be around them every single day,” Celebrini said at Sharks Ice. “But it sucks. It’s a little sour that you look back at it and just didn’t get the job done.”
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When asked how long that feeling would last, Celebrini was blunt.
“Forever,” he said.
Now the Sharks are counting on other Olympians – Sweden’s Alex Wennberg, Switzerland’s Philipp Kurashev, and Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda – to channel the pressure and lessons from international play as their playoff push resumes.
Celebrini said skating alongside McDavid and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon – the NHL’s first- and second-leading scorers, respectively – showed him exactly “where the bar is at.”
“Those guys play with such pace, and they think the game so fast, and the level that they play at, the practice that they play at, probably the fastest practices I’ve ever been a part of. Just being around them, practicing with them, playing with them, it’s a different level.”
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The Sharks’ homestand is vital to any postseason hopes, as they entered Wednesday five points out of a playoff spot with 27 games remaining.
Celebrini’s production so far this season – 81 points in 55 games – has been a major reason San Jose remains in the hunt for its first playoff berth since 2019.
“We want to take those next steps, and all this comes along with it,” Celebrini said. “The fans, the attention. We want those expectations. We want that pressure, because that means we’re doing a good thing and we’re trending the right way.
“So I think just at the end of the day, all this comes into it, and hopefully you guys come back more.”
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