SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks haven’t shared many – or any — details about the illness the centerman came down with at the start of training camp, or why he hasn’t taken part in every one of the team’s drills in recent practices.
Celebrini said one thing for sure: He’ll be good to go for the start of the regular season next month.
“I’ll be ready,” Celebrini said Sunday.
“We’ve taken all the information, made a plan, and we’re just sticking to it. It’s going right on schedule.”
The Sharks have four preseason games this week, starting with Monday’s exhibition in Anaheim against the Ducks. San Jose’s regular-season opener is on Oct. 9 at home against the Vegas Golden Knights.
While Celebrini has taken part in most drills, he’s been kept out of some others that could involve a significant amount of contact. At the Sharks’ practice facility on Sunday, for instance, he did strength and conditioning work, pulling development coach Mike Ricci around the ice on a tether, while other players did small ice drills at the other end of the rink.
Sharks coach Ryan Warosfsky said Celebrini, who has not played in either of the team’s two exhibition games so far, will practice with full contact sometime this week. The plan is then to play him in at least one preseason game, although it appears doubtful that he’ll suit up Monday.
After playing in Anaheim, the Sharks host the Ducks on Wednesday before traveling to play the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, in their preseason finale.
“We have a plan in place. We’re going to stick to it,” Warsofsky said. “He had that illness earlier in camp … and I’m not going to go into too much detail.”
Celebrini, according to the Sharks, fell ill on the first day of training camp on Sept. 18. He remained off the ice for the next two days but resumed skating with the group on Sept. 23.
“He knows the process. He’s a competitor,” Warsofsky said of Celebrini. “Of course, he wants to be out there and doing everything, leading the charge. But we’ve got to be smart, and that’s where we’re at.”
There are no limitations on Celebrini’s skating, as he’s flown around the ice during other drills.
“Good shape, good conditioning,” Warsofsky said. “He looks like if we dropped the puck tomorrow, he’d probably be ready to go.”
KLINGBERG RETURNS: Defenseman John Klingberg, who had been dealing with an upper-body injury, joined one of the Sharks’ main training camp groups on Sunday for the first time in a week. Like Celebrini, Klingberg stayed out of heavy contact drills as he worked with coaches at the other end of the ice.
Klingberg sustained his injury in the Sharks’ preseason opener on Sept. 21, but resumed skating in recent days and could soon again be a full participant in practice.
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CAMP CUTS: The Sharks reduced their training camp roster to 50 players, assigning forward Carson Wetsch and defensemen Haoxi (Simon) Wang to their respective CHL teams. Wetsch, a 2024 third-round pick, plays for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, and Wang, taken at the start of the second round of this year’s draft in June, plays with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals.
Wang was injured and unable to practice with the main groups at training camp in recent days but is healthy now, Warsofsky said. Wetsch dressed for his first NHL preseason game on Friday and had two hits and just over 10 minutes of ice time in the Sharks’ 2-1 loss to the Golden Knights.
Warsofsky said the 6-foot-6 Wang looked “more and more comfortable every day. He is raw, but you see the potential. Wow, can he skate. His length, his agility side to side, he’s going to be a good one. It’s not going to be tomorrow, but he’s very coachable, soaks it all in. We throw a lot at these young guys, and to see him get comfortable every day, that was impressive.”