In his first NHL training camp, Macklin Celebrini is proving that his potential to be a cornerstone player for the Sharks goes beyond the ice.
With the goal of establishing a much-needed winning culture, San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky has implemented a method to penalize the losers of small-area games: bag skating.
Of course, no one wants to bag skate, including the 18-year-old rookie. But it’s Celebrini’s breakdown of what he believes the motivator to not bag skate should be that is telling of the leader within him (h/t/ The Hockey News).
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"No one wants to bag skate at the end of practice, and winning is how you avoid that," Celebrini said after practice on Wednesday. "I feel like that shouldn't be the motivator.
“I feel like it should just come within our room, where we hate to lose games. Even if it's preseason, we're not happy if we're losing games. It's not acceptable."
Despite a slow start to the preseason, there’s hope in San Jose that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and the rest of the organization’s young foundation will help turn around the Sharks’ fortunes.
Surely, it will take more than a season for the Sharks to rise from a handful of arduous campaigns. But if Celebrini has demonstrated anything so far, it’s his dynamic two-way abilities on the ice, and his emergence as a young leader.
San Jose Sharks
He’s talking the talk and walking the walk.
In the meantime, Celebrini will continue to learn from Sharks veteran leaders, like captain Logan Couture and alternate captain Mario Ferraro.
But the rookie is without a doubt a franchise leader in the making.