SAN JOSE -- Macklin Celebrini was back on the ice with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft works his way back from a lower-body injury sustained in the first game of the season on Oct. 11.
“As part of his rehabilitation plan, Macklin will return to team activities today,” the Sharks said in a statement. “He has made positive progress over the past several weeks and this will be the next step toward returning to the active roster. We will continue to monitor his progress but no date has yet been set for his return to game action.”
The 18-year-old center had a goal and an assist in 17:35 of ice time in his NHL debut, a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10. He was placed on injured reserve two days later.
San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said Celebrini remains week to week.
"Everyone goes through bumps and bruises throughout training camp," Warsofsky said. "I'd say we kind of realized something was more in-depth after that [first] game. It's a good learning moment for him. Life's unfair at times. Mentally, he's good. He was in here today working. It's the game of hockey, right? There's going to be injuries. Sure, it won't be his last injury, and we've got to continue to move forward.
"He's taking the next steps. This is kind of the progress, but to have him out there was good for our guys."
Celebrini's teammates agreed with their coach's assessment.
"We're excited to have him back," center Will Smith said. "It feels like forever since he was with us."
Forward Mikael Granlundsaid: "He seems full of energy. He keeps up right away. We would like to have him back as soon as possible. He's a great player, and it is good to see him out there."
Center Nico Sturmsaid getting Celebrini back in the lineup will undoubtedly provide a boost.
"Obviously, [he's a] special player, an important player for us," Sturm said. "During that tough stretch that we had, there were probably a couple [of] situations where you're on the power play, [or] 4-on-4 situations where you can use his skill and his speed.
"Sometimes there's a stretch of a rut in a game where nothing really seems to happen, and you've got a guy like him, that can just kind of make something out of nothing."
Celebrini was the youngest player in men's college hockey last season, when he also became the youngest to win the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the top NCAA men's hockey player. He was second among NCAA players with 32 goals and third with 64 points in 38 games for Boston University.
Celebrini also left practice during training camp Sept. 25 with a lower-body injury and left a preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club on Oct. 1 with the same injury.
The Sharks, who began the season 0-7-2, have won two straight entering their game against the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, NBCSCA, SN360, SN).
NHL.com independent correspondent Max Miller contributed to this report
