Celebrini explains participation in Oilers-Canucks NHL playoff game

Celebrini explains participation in Oilers-Canucks NHL playoff game originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

BUFFALO, NY – Macklin Celebrini’s first NHL appearance as member of the sharks It will also be the first time he has been at a San Jose game.

This may be surprising considering Celebrini played one season with the Jr. Sharks in 2019-20.

“I never really had time to go to any,” Celebrini told San Jose Hockey Now in a one-on-one interview at the 2024 NHL Draft Combine.

Celebrini will have plenty of time to watch Sharks games after Saint Joseph makes him the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on June 28 in Las Vegas.

The Combine is the beginning of that relationship with the Sharks. Celebrini said she had dinner with general manager Mike Grier and Co. at local favorite Buffalo Chophouse over chicken.

“I think that’s where every dinner party happens,” Celebrini laughed. He said it was a good time, lots of jokes told.

Celebrini also recently reached out to Will Smith, the Sharks’ fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, who recently announced he is turning pro. Although Celebrini never played with Smith, they played against each other for years, at various levels, from the USHL to the NCAA.

“He completes the pieces you think he won’t,” Celebrini said. “We kind of texted a little bit.”

So Celebrini, even if he doesn’t publicly admit that he will be Shark, knows that he is going to San Jose.

He knows that on June 28th he won’t be able to be a Vancouver Canucks fan anymore… at least not that much.

Celebrini grew up in Vancouver and was a big fan of Ryan Kesler growing up, even reaching the No. 17 two-way center model, who played with the Canucks and Anaheim Ducks from 2003 to 2019.

“I think the year I started to love him was his breakout year,” Celebrini said of Kesler’s 41-goal Selke Trophy-winning campaign in 2010-11. “He was playing incredible, leading the Canucks with the Sedins with his play. I remember going to a Canucks game and watching him and he scored a couple of goals. I just loved him from that point on.”

Did Celebrini, considered a perfect two-way center in his own right, model his game after the bold Kesler?

“Of course,” he said, “[But] I watched him more as a fan, less to learn.”

All of this helped cement Celebrini’s Canucks fandom, which culminated in Celebrini participating in Game 7 of the Canucks’ Western Conference semifinal series against the Edmonton Oilers with his older brother, Aiden, in May.

This is the last time he will root for the Canucks, right?

“Yeah, probably,” he laughed. “I’m not with any NHL club right now. I took the opportunity to support a team that did a good job.”

Of course, defenseman Aiden Celebrini was also selected in the sixth round of the 2023 Draft… by Vancouver.

“I think I’m going to stay a Canucks fan for a little bit just because of my brother,” he laughed. “I think this is allowed.”

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