All of the healthy San Jose Sharks were on the ice for practice in Dallas today. Except for one of the NHL’s best young talents, Macklin Celebrini.
Just three games into the season, Celebrini has already suffered an injury that held him out of a game and practice. San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reported that Celebrini was not on the ice. However, he was still traveling with the team.
The San Jose Sharks captain took part in warmups against the Stars on Tuesday evening but did not dress for the game. San Jose lost 5-0 against Dallas and will now travel to St. Louis to end their quick road trip against the Blues.
“Obviously, he didn’t play today,” Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said Monday night. “We’ll evaluate tonight and tomorrow, and see where he’s at.
Even though the Sharks missed their captain, there was no excuse to lose the way they did against the Stars. At least that’s how Ty Dellandrea saw it as he came back into the lineup.
“I get it is our captain and the biggest piece to the puzzle. But got to bring more than that,” Dellandrea said.
Celebrini said to be day-to-day
After the Sharks practiced on Tuesday afternoon, Sheng reported that Macklin Celebrini’s status is considered day-to-day. This is because he’s still being evaluated.
The budding NHL star was not injured during the warm-up on Monday night either. The expectation from the Sharks was that Celebrini would be playing in that game.
After Celebrini took line rushes with his teammates in Dallas, he got off the ice early and went to be evaluated by the medical staff.
“It didn’t happen in warm-ups,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said on Tuesday. “This has been something we’ve been trying to manage here a little bit.”
The coach wasn’t sure exactly when Celebrini got hurt early this season. To this point, Celebrini hadn’t missed any practices or any days at training camp.
Peng, being in Dallas, added that Celebrini was seen walking around practice on Tuesday, showing no obvious sign of injury. The superstar center, however, wasn’t seen skating before or after practice.
Warsofsky told Peng that they don’t know if Celebrini will play on Thursday in St. Louis.
Losing Celebrini for too long will hurt the Sharks
Should the Sharks miss Macklin Celebrini past this week and into next, then that may not bode well for success out of the gates this season.
San Jose will head back home for a game against the Edmonton Oilers this Saturday. Then the team will play the Boston Bruins next Tuesday.
Once the quick trip home wraps up, the Sharks will embark on a 6-game road trip out east. It kicks off in Nashville and then ends in Boston.
Not having Celebrini in the lineup won’t help the Sharks build a foundation for a good chance for a chance to clinch a playoff spot. There’s still plenty of time, but picking up as many points as possible will help the rebuilding franchise.
There remains optimism that the Sharks get Celebrini back before a big road trip, but it’s still not clear how much time he could miss.
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San Jose Sharks Captain Macklin Celebrini Listed as Day-to-Day