Celebrini, Smith eager to accelerate Sharks rebuild

ARLINGTON, Va. -- College rivals turned NHL teammates Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are excited about joining forces with the San Jose Sharks to boost their rebuild this season.

Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft who played at Boston University last season, and Smith, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft who played at Boston College, will compete as Sharks teammates for the first time when they face the Utah Hockey Club in the 2024 Rookie Faceoff at Toyota Sports Center in Los Angeles on Friday.

"I played against him a bunch through the years, and it's good to finally be a teammate with him and play with him," Celebrini said at the 2024 NHLPA Rookie Showcase last week. "He's a great guy and getting to know him over the last couple weeks and stuff, it's been awesome."

Celebrini, 18, and Smith, 19, are expected to be big parts of San Jose's future as a potential one-two punch at center and step directly into the lineup this season after the Sharks finished last in the NHL last season with 47 points (19-54-9) and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth straight season.

Celebrini finished third in the NCAA with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games as a freshman last season and, at 17 years old, was the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate men's player in the United States. Smith led the NCAA with 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in 41 games to set a Boston College record for most points by a first-year player and help the Eagles reach the NCAA title game before losing to the University of Denver.

In the four games between Boston University and Boston College last season, Celebrini had four points (all goals), and Smith had nine points (five goals, four assists). Boston College won three of the four games, including 6-2 in the Hockey East Championship game in which Smith had four goals and an assist.

Celebrini scored twice in Boston University's lone win, 4-3 in the Beanpot semifinals.

"Obviously, we had some good battles playing against each other," Smith said. "He would always have a couple (goals) against us, so it was always a good battle. … We were talking about it earlier just how crazy it is that we're on the same team now."

Smith was representing the United States at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia when the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery was held May 7, but was a highly interested viewer when the Sharks won the right to select Celebrini with the No. 1 pick.

"With the time difference, it was pretty late at night," Smith said. "But I remember staying up to watch it. It was pretty exciting."

Smith decided to leave Boston College to turn pro shorty after that and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with San Jose on May 28. Celebrini signed his three-year, entry-level contract July 5 after the completion of Sharks development camp, where he roomed with Smith.

"Going from playing against him the last couple of years to really get to know him and spend some together, it's been good," Celebrini said. "He's a great guy, so it's pretty easy."

Celebrini and Smith are part of a promising young core San Jose has been building that also includes forwards William Eklund, 21, Filip Bystedt, 20, Quintin Musty, 19, and Thomas Bordeleau, 22, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin, 22, Sam Dickinson, 18, and Henry Thrun, 23, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov, 22, who was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23.

Ryan Warsofsky, who was hired as coach June 13 after being a Sharks assistant the past two seasons, thinks Celebrini and Smith will benefit from being able to lean on and push each other while going through many firsts as NHL rookies this season, beginning with their initial training camps.

"I'm sure they both want rookie of the year, I'm sure they both want to have more points at the end of the year, and that's good," Warsofsky said. "I want that. I think that's super important for individual goals, but to get to that point, we've got to have some team success and when you have team success, individual success comes with that.

"So, I'm excited to see their competition, their inner drive to push each other."

Seeking to make Celebrini and Smith's transitions to the NHL easier, San Jose was aggressive this offseason in trying to strengthen its lineup around them. The Sharks added a host of veterans, including forwards Tyler Toffoli (four-year contract), Alex Wennberg (two years), Ty Dellandrea (trade with Dallas Stars, signed two-year contract), Carl Grundstrom (trade with Los Angeles Kings, signed two-year contract) and Barclay Goodrow (claimed off waivers from New York Rangers), and defenseman Jake Walman (trade with Detroit Red Wings).

"There's some really good players there," Celebrini said. "We made some great moves this offseason. I'm super excited for the group we have and to build with them and really grow with them."

With a deeper roster, Celebrini and Smith believe the Sharks can surprise some by making a jump in the standings this season and are eager to do their part.

"That's why we signed," Smith said. "We want to go in there and help immediately. There's an energy around the organization right now."

Still, though Celebrini and Smith are looking forward to working together to push the Sharks to the next level, that doesn't mean the Boston University-Boston College rivalry will be completely forgotten.

"I'm sure we'll have some friendly bets during the year for the Beanpot and stuff like that," Smith said. "So, it's going to be fun."