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Macklin Celebrini Matches Rare Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Achievement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 6:20 AM ET

San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini’s rookie season hasn’t come with many team wins, but on Wednesday night in Minnesota, the 18-year-old gave Sharks fans another reason to believe in a brighter looming future.

Celebrini recorded his first NHL hat trick during an 8–7 overtime loss to the Wild, becoming the first No. 1 overall pick to do so as a rookie since Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews in 2016, per ESPN.

Celebrini added two assists to wrap up a career-best five-point night, all while playing in front of Make-A-Wish guest Luke Schumann, whose dream was to meet the Sharks phenom.

“It was a great experience, something I’ll remember for a very long time,” Celebrini said, per San Jose Hockey Now's Shen Peng. “For him to be here tonight and kind of experience that game, I think it was a little bit better than the Seattle game.”

Macklin Celebrini is making his mark on the NHL ✨ pic.twitter.com/HnGNw05usz
— ESPN (@espn) April 10, 2025

The performance pushed Celebrini’s season totals to 24 goals and 62 points in 66 games, breaking Pat Falloon’s 33-year-old franchise record for rookie scoring in a single season, set at 59 in 1992 until now.

Celebrini held off Wild's Brock Faber in tight for the first, finished a give-and-go with Smith for the second, and buried a late equalizer in the Sharks' overtime loss to Minnesota.

For a team stuck at the bottom of the standings, Celebrini's rise has been the brightest part of another difficult year in San Jose, a team that is 20-47-11 and has lost seven in a row (0-5-2).

“We just got a good look at the future, didn’t we?” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Was one of [Celebrini’s] better games here as of late, obviously with points and whatnot.

”We just got a really good look at the future.”

The Sharks are headed to the NHL lottery as the worst team in the league, boasting the largest odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft, set at 25.5 percent, according to Tankathon.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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