Sharks place rookie Celebrini on IR with lower body injury ‘week to week’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Sharks placed rookie center Macklin Celebrini on injured reserve Saturday with a lower-body injury, just two days after the 18-year-old phenom made his NHL debut and incredibly tallied a goal and a pass.
THE #SJSharks recalled Dr. Jack Thompson of @sjbarracuda.
Additionally, C Macklin Celebrini was placed on injured reserve.
– San Jose Sharks Public Relations (@SanJoseSharksPR) October 12, 2024
The decision means Celebrini will not play against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night at SAP Center, and he will be forced to miss at least a week of action. Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now cited several sources reporting that Celebrini has a hip injuryand he played it Thursday night in the Sharks’ season opener.
Celebrini would be eligible to play in the Oct. 18 road game against the Winnipeg Jets at the earliest, but Peng reported that Sharks coach Ryan Warsofky wouldn’t even commit to a November return for his top young star.
“I can’t say, set a timetable, to be honest with you,” Warsofsky told reporters, according to Peng. “I think week in and week out, that’s exactly what we’re thinking about. We’ll just see how it progresses during his rehab here in the next few days.
Warsofsky and fellow Sharks rookie center Will Smith told Peng that Celebrini was coping well with the disappointment of being injured after just one NHL game.
“Life is unfair sometimes, but I think mentally he’s good,” Warsofsky said.
Smith said: “He’s in good spirits. Obviously, he is disappointed to miss the games, but he will be back soon.
Celebrini, the top pick in the 2024 draft, shined in his NHL regular season debut Thursday night, scoring two points in the first period of Sharks’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Saint-Louis Blues.
Celebrini’s first career NHL goal came on a superb backhand shot that ricocheted off the right skate of Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel and onto goaltender Joel Hoffer.
Celebrini then added an assist on veteran winger Tyler Toffoli’s goal in the first period, which gave San Jose a 2-1 lead.
Although Celebrini did not appear hampered Thursday, something clearly happened that led to his absence from Friday’s team practice.
Warsofsky said Saturday that the Sharks knew Celebrini was injured after the first game of the season, according to Peng, but he would not confirm whether it was related to a lower-body injury that caused the rookie to miss some preparatory matches.
San Jose will now be tested early in Celebrini’s tenure, having to rely on other players to step up.
“He’s obviously already one of the best players on our team, if not the best,” Toffoli said via Peng.
Warsofsky added: “He was here today to work. It’s obviously the game of hockey, right? There will be injuries. »
