There’s also 19-year-old center prospect Will Smith, who was selected fourth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. Smith led the NCAA with 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in 41 games as a freshman at Boston College last season, setting a program record for a freshman player, and helped the Eagles reach the national championship game, where they lost 2-0 to the University of Denver.

“We met at development camp and he’s a great guy,” Celebrini said of Smith. “He’s a great guy and we hit it off really well. It’s going to be fun together. We both have the same goals and that’s just to take this team and organization as far as we can, so it’s going to be great.”

Celebrini had 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games last season and became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award at age 17. He finished second in the NCAA in points per game (1.68) and goals and third in points.

Coming out of development camp, he said he’s continuing to work on his 200-foot game and a lot of wall play. He knows there will be a lot of pressure as he tries to turn the Sharks around, but he said he couldn’t be more ready.

“You never think about failing before you start,” Celebrini said. “So, we’re going to try to win as many games as possible. You don’t want to start a season thinking you’re going to lose games. I think we’ll have that mentality. We have the group to get it done and we made some great moves in the offseason.

“This is my first training camp, so there’s definitely a lot of nervousness and a lot of excitement. I just want to not let it consume you, but instead kind of feed you. At the end of the day, you’ve got to take care of the things you can control and the rest will take care of itself, so I think that’s what I’m focusing on.”