Macklin Celebrini’s incredible showing at the Olympics has come to an end with a loss in the gold medal game to Team USA. finishing with 10 points in 6 games, an outstanding showing for the 19-year-old Sharks star.
Celebrini made waves throughout the Olympics with his play alongside fellow stars McDavid and MacKinnon on the world stage. While Celebrini has been playing at an elite level all season, the Sharks still do not draw that much media attention, making the Olympics the first chance for some to experience how good Celebrini actually is.
Celebrini will return to the Sharks and gear up for a potential playoff push. His experience with the Olympics should only help with that, by giving him a sense of what it feels like to play in high-pressure situations at the top level. Even if the Sharks don’t break through this season, that experience will give him the edge when they do finally break through in the years to come.
The Sharks are a young team, and any chance to give their players playoff experience will be important for the next competitive window. Making the playoffs this year, while likely resulting in a quick exit to a powerhouse like Colorado, would give their future core pieces like Celebrini, Smith, Misa, and Dickinson a taste of what it takes to win at the highest level. This experience could be invaluable, and it will be interesting to see how Grier approaches the deadline in the coming days.
In other Sharks Olympic news, Pavol Regenda fell short of the bronze medal when Slovakia lost to Finland on Saturday. Regenda had an excellent tournament, scoring 5 points in 6 games, and showed that his play this season at the NHL level may be more than just luck. Regenda will have to compete with a logjam of middle-sixers in San Jose, but he does have the advantage of being a net-front option on the power play, something the Sharks lack on their roster.