LAS VEGAS -- Macklin Celebrini is going to love living with Joe Thornton, according to another No. 1 pick who lived with the legend early in his NHL career.
“I’m kind of jealous,” Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews said with a smile at the NHL North American Media Tour on Monday.
Celebrini, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, said he’ll move in with Thornton after rookie camp with the San Jose Sharks this month, maybe during training camp. The 18-year-old center should have a tremendous resource in the 45-year-old retired center.
Thornton was the No. 1 pick of the 1997 NHL Draft and entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins at 18. He played 24 seasons in the League, including 15 for San Jose from 2005-20. He ranks first in assists (804) and second in points (1,055) in Sharks history, seventh in assists (1,109) and 14th in points (1,539) in NHL history.
“Living with him, I think it’s the perfect situation for me coming into this year, because he pretty much dealt with the same thing a little while back,” Celebrini said at the media tour Monday. “Just to learn from his advice, his lessons and his wisdom is super important for me.”
Thornton has a colorful personality and should be a tremendous source of fun, too, as Matthews will tell you.
He signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent Oct. 16, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL played a shortened 56-game season that began Jan. 13, 2021. The League temporarily realigned due to travel restrictions, creating a Canadian division.
When Thornton, Matthews, forward William Nylander and defenseman Rasmus Sandin arrived in Canada, they had to quarantine for two weeks. They didn’t want to stay off the ice for that long, so together they found a house about an hour outside Toronto with an outdoor rink.
“‘Jumbo’ got the master,” Matthews said. “We all had our own rooms. I was down in the basement. The rink was just, like, a two-second walk. It had a gymnastics area, a basketball court. We would play a basketball game, 2-on-2, to warm up, and then we’d get on the ice.
“Yeah, it was two weeks of just hanging out. Jumbo just made it, like, so fun because of who he is. It was our first interaction with him. Yeah, we had an unbelievable time. Those two weeks flew by.”
Thornton lived in Matthews’ apartment for two weeks after that, because his family hadn’t arrived in Toronto yet. Matthews, the No. 1 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, was 23 then. Thornton was 41. He’d been selected No. 1 three months before Matthews was born. But who was the bigger kid?
“It was awesome,” Matthews said. “It was so fun. We’d just watch sports, hang out. But like, he always had to be doing something, so if we were on the couch for a little bit, he’s like, ‘All right, let’s go for a Rollerblade.’ We’d strap on our Rollerblades and go wheel around.
“He’s definitely a lot of fun to hang out with. I remember I went to my room, and I had to make a phone call. I came back, and he had his hockey skates on in the house, and he had them all taped up. He was just, like, breaking them in. He was walking around the house in hockey skates. No shirt.
“My dog was there, and he was hanging out with my dog. I’m like, ‘This is so good.’”
Thornton played his final season for the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, when Matthews won the Hart Trophy, voted the NHL’s most valuable player the way Thornton was in 2005-06. He announced his retirement Oct. 28, 2023, releasing a brief video of himself outdoors with a wide-brimmed hat and his trademark big beard. No shirt.
“If you’re looking for me, you know where to find me,” he said, smiling in the sunshine. “I’ll be at the rink. Peace and love.”
Sure enough, he continued to be at the rink a lot in San Jose. Asked for his official title, general manager Mike Grier said, “Jumbo. It’s just Jumbo and vibes. Jumbo and vibes. He’s Jumbo. He loves being around the rink, loves helping, helping the players, loves being on the ice, loves being in the gym kind of talking with kids and just being around. He just loves the game.”
When the Sharks selected Celebrini at the draft at Sphere Las Vegas on June 28, it was Thornton who announced the pick. Celebrini had no idea he was going to be there, let alone on stage with him.
“That was a very cool moment for me,” Celebrini said.
Celebrini got to know Thornton a little bit at development camp afterward, and now he’s going to get the full Jumbo experience.
“As far as what he can expect, it’s going to be so much fun,” Matthews said. “He wakes up every day -- no coffee, so much energy. There’s no bad days in his life. He brings it every day, and it’s just so fun to be around.
“I think he’s going to really enjoy it. Living with him, I’m sure he’s going to learn a lot. Jumbo’s great as far as just, like, supporting people and keeping things light. He’s going to really enjoy it.”
