Sharks’ Celebrini strengthens case for Calder Trophy (and nears lucrative bonuses) ...Middle East

The San Jose Sharks promotional arm has been working overtime in recent days, trying to spread the word to every living organism in North America and beyond that Macklin Celebrini deserves to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie this season.

But it’s one thing to say Celebrini is the league’s best first-year player. The 18-year-old still has to continue to perform.

Consider this road trip — and how it has unfolded — the start of his closing argument.

Celebrini on Tuesday picked up his fifth point in six games, scoring a third-period goal that helped the Sharks seal a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, giving San Jose consecutive victories on the road for the first time in over three months.

But that’s not what separates Celebrini from other players who have a similar amount of NHL experience. It’s that the things he’s doing right now – like competing all over the ice, being hard on pucks, outplaying seasoned veterans – are things no other rookie has done or seems capable of doing at this stage of their careers.

“Macklin is going to be extremely special,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “And I’m not even talking about the goal scoring ability. The way he competes, the way he plays a 200-foot center game at 18 years old, the way he drags people into the fight with his leadership, it’s fun to sit there in the front row and watch it.”

Celebrini scored once Tuesday, a third period goal assisted by Shakir Mukhamadullin and Will Smith (a sentence Sharks fans would like to hear for years to come) but could have scored one or two more if not for some bad luck in the first period.

Still, on this seven-game road trip that ends Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche, Celebrini had two goals and three assists. Off the ice, he’s held court with reporters in Montreal and Toronto, Canada’s two biggest media markets, allowing the public – and voters — to become a bit more familiar with him. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote on the Calder Trophy.

And, before Wednesday’s games, Celebrini had 45 points, same as Philadelphia winger Matvei Michkov and three points less than Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson. Celebrini has played 10 fewer games than Hutson and nine fewer than Michkov.

Asked Monday in Toronto whether winning the Calder Trophy was important to him, Celebrini didn’t say no, but added, “that’s something to worry about at the end of the season.”

One other thing: Celebrini’s goal Tuesday, his 19th of the season, not only gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead at the 7:58 mark of the third period. But it put him within one goal of pocketing a $250,000 bonus.

Same thing if Celebrini reaches 35 assists (he has 26), 60 points, averages at least 0.73 points per game (he’s at 0.88) or is on the NHL’s All-Rookie team (pretty much a lock). There are bonuses for other achievements, but he can only earn a maximum of four bonuses for $1 million.

But that’s just money. Celebrini will earn a lot of it over his career. Right now, it’s all about playing well and winning games, both of which — if they happen — will surely be highlighted by the team that employs him as he zeros in on the Calder.

“You never want to accept losing because that’s just building bad habits,” Celebrini said. “But it definitely feels good when you start getting wins. You start feeling like you’re getting rewarded for your work, and especially a road trip like this. We’ve been on kind of a grind throughout Canada and then here, so I think just getting these last two wins, it just kind of helps our group get more energized.”

EKLUND ON FIRE: William Eklund’s two points against the Sabres gave him 46 for the season. Not only does that establish a new career high for Eklund, but it also makes him the Sharks’ leading scorer. Mikael Granlund had 45 points in 52 games before he was traded to the Dallas Stars last month.

Eklund’s goal at the 2:19 mark of the third period gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead. After he was knocked down inside the Sabres zone, he got back up, took a pass from Tyler Toffoli and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a shot that somehow squeezed between the 6-foot-5 Buffalo goalie and the post, landing past the goal line.

Eklund now has points in eight of his last nine games. It’s reminiscent of how he ended last season, when he had 15 points in his final 14 games.

Eklund is in line for his own bonuses, although his are worth $212,500 each if he reaches the same benchmarks Celebrini is in sight of.

VLASIC’S RECORD: Marc-Edouard Vlasic set a new NHL record for blocked shots on Tuesday. He established the new mark 2:16 into the first period when he got in front of Zach Benson’s wrist shot.

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Vlasic finished with two blocks, increasing his career total to 2,166, two more than previous record holder Mark Giordano. After the game, his teammates gave him the honorary military-style vest and an ovation.

Vlasic, now in his 19th NHL season, all with the Sharks, broke the record in his 1,308th game. Vlasic’s career began in 2006-07, a year after the NHL started to track blocked shots.

“That’s a lot of blocked shots,” Vlasic said. “It’s pretty cool. I take pride in playing good defensively.”

“He knows how to play the position, puts his body in the lanes, blocked big shots his whole career. You guys have seen it,” Warsofsky said. “I know how proud each of his teammates are. They gave him a standing ovation in the locker room. It was quite a scene and well-deserved.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

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