Evaluating Macklin Celebrini's First NHL Goal

Macklin Celebrini's goal and assist in the first period marked a milestone, making him the youngest player in NHL history to record two first period points. The future is bright in San Jose, with the rise of players like William Eklund, Will Smith, and now Macklin Celebrini, the young core up front along with free agent signings can continue to help this team evolve throughout the year.

Celebrini really stood out yesterday, not defensively, but more notably offensively as was expected. You're going to see standout skill every time Celebrini is on the ice, because he brings the innate ability to attack with speed, but also use his hands to draw fans out of their seats. That's exactly what Celebrini did in this sequence, where he did a terrific job utilizing his hands and playmaking to eventually land his first career goal.

What is most notable about this sequence to start with is seeing how Celebrini positions himself away from the play using multiple factors:

1. He sprints the play early, allowing for timing and for him to scan where his linemates will attack off the rush (Being early is better than being late)
2. He stays stationed in weak side space, allowing him to be open and available without pressure lurking on him
3. Celebrini delays and holds on the entry, allowing for his teammates to get open quickly

It all starts with Celebrini's route timing initially, where he sprints on the exit and gets just inside the dot lane so he doesn't veer too far away from the play. He instead positions himself in open ice, and sprinting the play early allows him to conserve his energy through the neutral zone sequence.

On the entry and 1v1 scenario, a couple noticeable things in how Celebrini attacks the defenseman:

1. Turns his body away from the stick checking defender
2. As he turns the puck through the spin move, he simultaneously moves his feet and hands
3. Pulls the puck from the toe of his blade to his backhand in a straight direction, maintaining his momentum

Celebrini did a great job corralling the puck through the turn, handling it, and absorbing contact to be able to evade the check in this scenario. This is a really hard move to execute, because Celebrini had back pressure and had to execute the backhand pass at nearly the same time. Only really special players have the ability to do this and time it correctly, and Celebrini looks like he is going to adapt to the NHL really quickly throughout 2024-25.

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