Sharks' Macklin Celebrini Leaves Big Impression on Defending Champs

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini put together an extremely impressive rookie season, recording 63 points in 70 games. Entering year two, the expectation was that he would take that proverbial sophomore leap in the same mold of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

Fifty games into the Sharks' season, and that's exactly what Celebrini is doing. He's third in the NHL in scoring, with 74 points in 50 contests, and San Jose currently holds the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Celebrini's entrance into superstardom has forced the entire NHL to take notice, and the defending champions were among the latest to experience it firsthand. The Sharks defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1 in a recent contest, and while Celebrini didn't record a point, his two-way game was a key part of the Sharks' effort. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice heaped praises on Celebrini after he left a huge impression on the back-to-back Stanley Cup winners.

"He’s the most impressive young player that I’ve seen in years in maturity of the game,” he said. “Usually these guys come in and they have a gift that just nobody else has, they’re just much faster or much more skilled or more offensively gifted than other players. But you don’t really see young players come in with an exceptionally well-rounded game marked by the plays they don't make."

Celebrini's Respect from Fellow Players Keeps Rising

It wasn't just Maurice who has taken notice. This entire season, Celebrini has been praised by fellow players. Crosby called him "incredible" ahead of a December matchup, and the 19-year-old tied an NHL record when he hit 55 points before Christmas, becoming just the third teenager to do so in NHL history.

The calendar flipped, and Celebrini's excellence persisted. He trails just Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead, but no one has been more important to his team's success than Celebrini. That's why Panthers veteran Carter Verhaege said his potential cannot be limited.

"His ceiling is endless," Verhaege said.