SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini will not play in Friday’s preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights, and coach Ryan Warsofsky said he would be OK if the 19-year-old also didn’t dress for the team’s exhibition finale on Saturday, either.
Celebrini, who missed time at the start of camp with an undisclosed illness, once again skated without any restrictions on Friday morning at the team’s practice facility. The Sharks are expected to dress a mostly NHL-caliber lineup on Saturday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth, primarily featuring players who were not scheduled to play on Friday.
“I haven’t received an update from the training staff to see how (Celebrini) felt,” Warsofsky said early Friday afternoon. “But I think we’ll see most of those guys (who didn’t play Friday) in the lineup tomorrow.”
Celebrini’s recovery from his illness cost him a chance to dress for any of the Sharks’ first four preseason games. The Sharks played their final home exhibition game on Wednesday, dressing a mostly NHL-caliber lineup, in a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Celebrini said earlier this week that he wanted to play in at least one exhibition game before the regular season begins next Thursday against the Golden Knights, which starts off a three-game homestand that includes dates against the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes.
“Every guy wants to play,” Warsofsky said. “We’re at that moment where, especially our veterans, they’re over training camp. They’re over the exhibition games. They want the live bullets.
“I know (Celebrini) hasn’t played yet. We know that. If he doesn’t play, we’re comfortable. If he does, I know he’ll act like it’s game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. And that’s the mentality we want. So we’ll see.”
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The Sharks will dress a handful of players on Friday who are fighting for roster spots, including center Michael Misa and defenseman Sam Dickinson. Misa, 18, will center a line with wingers Will Smith and Quentin Musty, and Dickinson will be paired with Vincent Desharnais.
Friday marked the final full practice of training camp, as the Sharks are scheduled to be off Sunday and Monday. The Sharks had 38 players in camp as of Friday and need to submit a salary cap-compliant roster of no more than 23 players to the NHL by Monday. The Sharks will reconvene for practice on Tuesday.
Please check back for updates to this story.
