'The lifestyle is so different': Sharks rookies Celebrini and Smith on learning how to be NHLers

Stepping into the NHL after one year of playing in the NCAA will come with plenty of adjustments, not only on the ice but also away from it. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith hail from elite Division I programs, Boston University and Boston College, where they were teammates with guys their own age who spent a lot of time together outside the rink. 

Both hyped San Jose Sharks rookies mentioned one theme that has been a big change for them: freedom, which can be both good and bad. 

“We don’t really go for team dinners,” Celebrini told Daily Faceoff. “Last year, every time we [BU] were on the road, we’d go for team dinners. Here, you kind of just get to do your own thing, a little bit more freedom, which one hundred percent makes sense — but it’s different. You get to do whatever you want, which is awesome — but it’s just a little different than last year.”

It’s interesting to hear Celebrini be open about this because it’s something everyone can relate to. The transition between college and the “real world” is difficult for a lot of people to process when you go from seeing your best friends every day to then figuring out a whole new routine while balancing a job and social life. That balance is no different for an NHL star in the making. 

“The lifestyle is so different,” Smith told Daily Faceoff. “Coming [on a Sharks road trip to] New York — being here for four days, the dinners, the hotel, it’s just crazy to be a 19-year-old living like this, it’s pretty amazing.” 

The Hockey East schedule isn’t quite as rigorous as the NHL schedule; the furthest trip in that conference is typically a six-hour bus ride for two games on the weekend. Smith is still figuring out how his body feels with the never-ending travel. 

“It’s double the games than in college; you’re going city to city, getting in at 2:00 a.m. at some of these places, and you’ve got to be ready the next day,” Smith said. “Mentally and on your body you’ve got to be ready to go, and I think it’s good for me to take a huge step in being a pro.”

Ryan Warsofsky is the youngest active head coach in the NHL. As a 37-year-old, he fully understands what these two are going through but has leaned on the leadership group of the Sharks a ton. Celebrini and Smith are still developing day by day, even though their expectations are incredibly high as top draft picks and highly touted prospects. People say that the NHL is not a developmental league, but Warsofsky says otherwise. 

“I think it is a developmental league,” Warsofsky said. “It’s a hard league to develop in — I will say that. You’re based on your wins and losses, so you have to understand both sides of the coin a little bit. There’s going to be speed bumps throughout the way and in particular, Mack and Will have hit those speed bumps at times. At times you can see their skill and their future come out, but it’s a hard league to nevermind develop in — but to play in and to win in.” 

Celebrini got used to playing against guys much older than him last year, but the oldest guys in college hockey are typically no older than 25 years old, and that’s not the case in the NHL. 

“You’re playing against men,” he said. There are some big guys on the ice, strong, fast, physical, it’s nothing to joke around with.” 

Celebrini and Smith are both getting used to playing against men. Having battled through an early-season injury, Celebrini is just six games into his NHL career. Smith has been a healthy scratch and taken his lumps defensively. But they’re slowly learning what it takes to succeed in the NHL on the ice, all the while becoming men away from it.