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Celebrini for Calder

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It's so great to see Sharks back at being one of the more interesting teams of NHL. I mean it was pretty clear Celebrini would help the organization get back some respect, but it has gotten out of hands... every other hockey video made on YouTube is about how Celebrini is seen to be better than Bedard, Michkov and even taking the crown of the generational player out of those two.

We as Sharks fans have hyped Celebrini from the day we knew we had the 1st overall pick, because of that's who we got to have on this particular draft. It would have been same if Sharks got 1st overall in Bedard draft. But little did we know... how underrated he ended up being, it's actually crazy.
We knew he could play a solid two-way game, but he is actually playing better two-way game than a lot two-way veterans which one of the most impressive things a 18-year old player could achieve. We knew he could score, but he is point per game as an 18-year old on a bad team. He seems to just be everything and more, it's honestly a shock after last year. This new era of Sharks hockey is so exciting that I'm actually speechless.

Celebrini for Calder.
 
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We definitely have not hyped Celebrini up since day one. The hype has really only exploded ever since he has come back from injury and we get to watch him dazzle us every game.

Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
 
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hotcabbagesoup said:
We definitely have not hyped Celebrini up since day one. The hype has really only exploded ever since he has come back from injury and we get to watch him dazzle us every game.

Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
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100% agreed. He's worth the watch alone.

While all signs point in an amazing direction, my long term concern with Celebrini is how much headroom he has for further improvement.
  • Physical development. He's definitely not fully matured as a human. I think we can expect him to develop some strength, and hopefully some even more explosiveness (ala Nate MacK) through approx 23-ish. However, his physical development won't be as obvious as, say, Will Smith's, so it's not like his upside is massive here.
  • Skills. Hopefully he gets even better at, e.g., a variety of shot releases, puck control, faceoffs, shootouts/breakaways. For something like faceoffs, he could go from ~50% to 55% and be an NHL leader if he puts in the effort, probably. He's not likely to become as good a goal scorer as Matthews but he can certainly improve his shot accuracy, selection, and finish on breakways/SO's.
  • Skating. He's already a very solid skater and has lots of quick-burst explosiveness, but there are definitely areas he could improve his edgework to go from excellent to NHL/world-elite. However, I'm not sure this will be a huge jump.
  • Hockey sense, decision making, and all around responsible play: he's starting at a pretty high base here. There will be improvement, but it might be less than other rookies/18yo's. If he can push this into the stratosphere then we will see him become truly Crosby-lite or better, and his ppg will become 1.3-1.5ppg like the very best in the league.
  • Effort/compete. There's not much more he can put in here. He doesn't take games off. What that means is "wysiwyg", we're not likely to see Macklin turn on another otherworldly gear in the playoffs, for example.
So there's massive upside, but the flat/downside case for Mack - meaning, we would get a great 6-10 years but maybe like Tavares his game stabilizes and then peters out - would be:
  • Only a bit more physical development
  • Skills get better but he doesn't reach the MacKinnon-level
  • Skating gets a little better but he's mostly close to finished form
  • Hockey sense, decision making, responsible play gets better and puts him in Selke territory but he doesn't break through to Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Barkov/Bergeron levels
  • Effort/compete is already maxed so you see his ability to keep up slowly erode as his maxed body and maxed effort leads to nagging injuries.
There's every reason to believe the upside scenario that he becomes a more defensively minded, perhaps slightly less dangerous/explosive MacKinnon, which is a cornerstone piece that could definitely lead us to a cup. There's also a little worry that he's starting close to max and so there's not a massive jump to come from here. His young age tips me toward optimism but I wanted to lay out the concern case.
 
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hotcabbagesoup said:
We definitely have not hyped Celebrini up since day one. The hype has really only exploded ever since he has come back from injury and we get to watch him dazzle us every game.

Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
Click to expand...
Not to pump my own tires but I called it before the season started:
Hodge said:
I don't think the league is ready for how good Macklin is going to be right off the bat. Whether it's due to Bedard fatigue or Team Canada underperforming at the WJC or whatever else, I feel like he's been one of the least hyped 1OAs in recent memory. Fans and media are not prepared for how NHL ready his game is, the fact he does some Jack Hughes-lite stuff carrying the puck and the way his one-timer from the right flank is going to make him one of the most lethal power play threats in the league immediately. Not to mention the kind of legit defensive IQ that's unheard of for an 18 year old rookie.
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It was just so obvious from watching his first preseason game and the training camp scrimmages/practices that Mack was on a completely different level compared to even an average 1OA pick. The scary part for everyone else is that he hasn't been fully unleashed on the power play yet but that's coming.
 
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JoeThorntonsRooster said:
I’m not convinced Macklin can’t become as good as or better than MacKinnon. MacKinnon may have better physical tools but Macklin has higher hockey IQ.
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The reason I have always been so high on Celebrini is that he has the Mackinnon/McDavid internal drive to keep getting better. Both of those guys somehow get better and better every year. Celebrini is already so good as an 18 year old, but do you think there's any chance he's even close to satisfied? No, he'll work his tail off until he's twice the player he is now, and then keep trying even harder.
 
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Hodge said:
Not to pump my own tires but I called it before the season started:

It was just so obvious from watching his first preseason game and the training camp scrimmages/practices that Mack was on a completely different level compared to even an average 1OA pick. The scary part for everyone else is that he hasn't been fully unleashed on the power play yet but that's coming.
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Oh I must've missed you saying this during preseason! Understandable really, the way stuff you say passes through one ear and out the next for me :sarcasm:
 
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Hodge said:
Not to pump my own tires but I called it before the season started:

It was just so obvious from watching his first preseason game and the training camp scrimmages/practices that Mack was on a completely different level compared to even an average 1OA pick. The scary part for everyone else is that he hasn't been fully unleashed on the power play yet but that's coming.
Click to expand...
I am worried that you might have injured your shoulder patting yourself on the back. JK :DD
 
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hotcabbagesoup said:
We definitely have not hyped Celebrini up since day one. The hype has really only exploded ever since he has come back from injury and we get to watch him dazzle us every game.

Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
Click to expand...
Agreed i think with an exception to a few outliers everyone was cautiously optimistic. Then after he began to dazzle game after game is when the hype train left the station.

This is the first time probably since Crosby/ Ovie where I’m actively doing everything I can to see a player play. I can’t say I feel the same way about Bedard like I was curious to see what the hype was about but I was never really like wow I have to see him play again
 
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hotcabbagesoup said:
Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
Click to expand...
Yupp , I have watched more Sharks hockey this year than the last 3 years combined, it just wasn't a fun team to watch, and Celebrini is a privilege to watch
 
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coooldude said:
100% agreed. He's worth the watch alone.

While all signs point in an amazing direction, my long term concern with Celebrini is how much headroom he has for further improvement.
  • Physical development. He's definitely not fully matured as a human. I think we can expect him to develop some strength, and hopefully some even more explosiveness (ala Nate MacK) through approx 23-ish. However, his physical development won't be as obvious as, say, Will Smith's, so it's not like his upside is massive here.
  • Skills. Hopefully he gets even better at, e.g., a variety of shot releases, puck control, faceoffs, shootouts/breakaways. For something like faceoffs, he could go from ~50% to 55% and be an NHL leader if he puts in the effort, probably. He's not likely to become as good a goal scorer as Matthews but he can certainly improve his shot accuracy, selection, and finish on breakways/SO's.
  • Skating. He's already a very solid skater and has lots of quick-burst explosiveness, but there are definitely areas he could improve his edgework to go from excellent to NHL/world-elite. However, I'm not sure this will be a huge jump.
  • Hockey sense, decision making, and all around responsible play: he's starting at a pretty high base here. There will be improvement, but it might be less than other rookies/18yo's. If he can push this into the stratosphere then we will see him become truly Crosby-lite or better, and his ppg will become 1.3-1.5ppg like the very best in the league.
  • Effort/compete. There's not much more he can put in here. He doesn't take games off. What that means is "wysiwyg", we're not likely to see Macklin turn on another otherworldly gear in the playoffs, for example.
So there's massive upside, but the flat/downside case for Mack - meaning, we would get a great 6-10 years but maybe like Tavares his game stabilizes and then peters out - would be:
  • Only a bit more physical development
  • Skills get better but he doesn't reach the MacKinnon-level
  • Skating gets a little better but he's mostly close to finished form
  • Hockey sense, decision making, responsible play gets better and puts him in Selke territory but he doesn't break through to Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Barkov/Bergeron levels
  • Effort/compete is already maxed so you see his ability to keep up slowly erode as his maxed body and maxed effort leads to nagging injuries.
There's every reason to believe the upside scenario that he becomes a more defensively minded, perhaps slightly less dangerous/explosive MacKinnon, which is a cornerstone piece that could definitely lead us to a cup. There's also a little worry that he's starting close to max and so there's not a massive jump to come from here. His young age tips me toward optimism but I wanted to lay out the concern case.
Click to expand...
Also think that further physical development will be limited, but on the flip side he doesn't seem like he needs game management currently - and that's an 18 year old 1C that's playing like 20 mins/night.

On hockey sense/decision making - As the Sharks get better and form a stable, young core around him, I think his play will continue to grow considerably.
Each game he's making some incredibly creative plays that his current teammates don't even anticipate/see yet. As he continues to grow and refine his play, not only will he get better at the selection of what will work in what situation against whom and what, but his team mates will also be more ready to receive and convert these, the more they play and grow alongside him.
 
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hotcabbagesoup said:
We definitely have not hyped Celebrini up since day one. The hype has really only exploded ever since he has come back from injury and we get to watch him dazzle us every game.

Watching him is like I have something injected into my veins. He scurries around the ice like a frantic rat. I always asked myself of Oiler fans when they were non contenders, how can you possibly watch a game just for one player (Mcdavid)? Wouldn't it be boring? Well, now i watch the Sharks and all my eyes are glued to Celebrini haha. I can see from the perspective of Oiler fans now
Click to expand...
haha, there are guys in the league that are really good, but I wouldn't pay admission just to see them ie Mark Stone, Scheifele, Reinhart etc , but then you get guys like McDavid, Mackinnon, Matthews that are just exciting to watch.

I think Celebrini is too. Outside of Oiler games, I think I watch the Sharks more than any other team now.
 
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DG93 said:
Bitchkov strikes again @Hodge
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Just for fun, here's the seventh goal, in which two Kings make Michkov and two friends look bad.

Michkov in particular is putting about 20% effort in on his backcheck and then just kind of drifts away from his man, who stays trailing and receives an Eklund special for the easiest goal of his life. Michkov seen on the other side of the ice just like "what happened?"

Honestly the kid's a great goal scorer but the dude trying to argue he's as good or better than Celebrini defensively is... Wrong.


Anyway, let's hope Macklin gets back on the scoresheet and plays a complete game. He's definitely looked a bit frustrated out there.
 
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