Sharks sensation Celebrini marks milestone with win over Canucks in Vancouver

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) and San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrate after defeating the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL game in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — Macklin Celebrini already has a long list of accomplishments during his young NHL career.

He added another Saturday night — a win in his hometown.

Celebrini scored and contributed an assist as his San Jose Sharks doubled up the Canucks 6-3 in Vancouver.

“I think we all wanted this one pretty bad and it’s cool to kind of win here,” said the 19-year-old centre.

“I had a lot of family here and obviously spent some time at home spending Christmas up here, so it was awesome to kind of get one in front of them.”

The Sharks (18-17-3) took an early 2-0 lead in the first period Saturday but the Canucks threatened to rally for a comeback, repeatedly cutting their deficit to a single goal.

The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft put the game out of reach late in the third.

Russian rookie Igor Chernyshov held on to the puck along the endboards, then sliced a quick pass to Celebrini, who dropped to his knees as he blasted a one-timer up and over Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko to give San Jose a 5-3 lead with less than four minutes on the game clock.

“That’s a game where I don’t know how that would have gone (our way) last year,” Celebrini said. ”But I think there’s just a calm on our bench, and we kind of knew what we need to do before, to get that win.”

The young star now has points in seven straight games, with five goals and nine assists across the stretch. He sits third in the league in points (57) behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (68) and Nathan MacKinnon (64) of Colorado.

“(Celebrini’s) a good hockey player. We all know that. And he played good,” said Canucks head coach Adam Foote. “He found open space up high and got pucks to the net and they were digging. He worked hard.”

Chernyshov scored his first NHL goal on Saturday and collected an assist on Celebrini’s tally. He has five points (one goal, four assists) across his first five games in the league.

Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, William Eklund and Collin Graf also scored for the Sharks, and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced.

Linus Karlsson had a power-play tally for the Canucks (15-19-3), while Drew O’Connor got a short-handed marker and Marco Rossi scored for the first time in a Vancouver jersey.

The 24-year-old centre was acquired from the Minnesota Wild alongside winger Liam Ohgren and defenceman Zeev Buium as part of a blockbuster trade for star defenceman Quinn Hughes on Dec. 12.

“It was a tough night. I think we knew before the game, San Jose’s a really skilled team, and if we were having too many turnovers and too many mistakes, we were gonna get paid for it,” Rossi said.

“And we just have to be better and couple puck managements and puck decisions out there. But now we have to, obviously, keep getting better.”

A CHALLENGING CALL

San Jose took the lead 6:11 into the game when Barclay Goodrow tipped Vincent Iorio’s shot on net and the puck dribbled through Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko. The rubber lay in the crease for a moment before the netminder covered it with his blocker, but Reaves managed to shovel it in for his first in 24 games.

Demko believed the goal should have been waived off.

“When I found it, I got my hand on top of it and swept it out, and then he pushed my entire arm in the net,” he said. ”So, I mean, you see challenges where guys are jabbing legs and whatever else in the net, and they usually get called back.”

The netminder went to the bench at the next whistle and appeared to be speaking with Foote.

The head coach said he didn’t believe the goal would have been called back if he’d launched a challenge.

“Our guys know the rule. After a rebound, two players — the goaltender and player — are simultaneously going after that puck at once, the rule states it’s not going to be called back,” Foote said. “And, hard to see on that angle if he had it completely covered. But our guys didn’t think that was going to get called back.”

WELCOME HOME

Celebrini wasn’t the only local player in the Sharks’ lineup on Saturday. Iorio grew up in nearby Coquitlam, B.C., and said he had at least 30 friends and family in the stands.

The 23-year-old defenceman registered an assist on Reaves’ goal and said hearing his name announced at Rogers Arena was “pretty cool.”

“I was telling my parents just how surreal it is, and how many games I’ve played here as a kid growing up, all the names and stuff,” he said. “I chatted with (colour commentator) Ray Ferraro briefly after the game, he’s a legend here. … It’s just a full circle moment.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published Dec. 28, 2025.