Newest Sharks each get unexpected call on draft night: “You get a little star-struck”

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Just a few minutes after he was selected ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the NHL draft, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff got an unexpected call.

On the other end was Macklin Celebrini, who welcomed Verhoeff to the Sharks organization.

“I mean, you get a little star-struck,” Verhoeff said Friday night at KeyBank Center. “Been watching this guy and you see him two years ago in Vegas get drafted (No. 1 overall), and you see him playing the NHL, and you kind of get star struck, but it was cool.”

Celebrini called all three players the Sharks drafted during Friday’s first round, speaking briefly with winger Ivar Stenberg, taken at No. 2, and defenseman Ryan Lin, selected 21st overall. Celebrini and Lin, both from the Vancouver, British Columbia area, have also skated together a few times this offseason.

Celebrini also did the same thing during last year’s draft, calling Michael Misa after the Sharks took him second overall in Los Angeles. Celebrini, Misa, Stenberg, and fellow forwards Will Smith and Igor Chernyshov, defenseman Sam Dickinson, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov figure to form the nucleus of future Sharks teams.

“It’s awesome,” Lin said of joining the Sharks. “I think everyone knows how good of a player (Macklin) already is at 19 (now 20), and all their young talent. It’s a really good situation I’m going into. I can’t wait.”

Even though they’re only one or two years younger than Celebrini, most players drafted in 2025 and 2026 are in awe of the Sharks’ top-line center, who finished fourth in the NHL in scoring this past season with 115 points in 82 games.

In January, when he returned to San Jose after competing at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota, Misa said his Canadian teammates all wanted to know more Celebrini and his habits on and off the ice.

“Recebi uma ligação do Mack, isso foi muito legal. […] Ele é um fenômeno. Um dos melhores jogadores do mundo, como eu já disse, então isso foi muito legal, com certeza.” — Ryan Lin sobre a ligação de Mack Celebrini após o draft.#TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/OnLEbWBE8a

— acervo sj sharks (@acervosharks) June 27, 2026

Why wouldn’t they? Celebrini played on Canada’s top line at the Winter Olympics in Milan with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon in February, and was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

“San Jose is starting to become a spot where I think guys really want to go because of guys like Macklin and the talent that they have,” Lin said. “I couldn’t be happier.”

While Verhoeff will most likely return to North Dakota for a second season in the NCAA and Lin is headed to the University of Denver, Stenberg, who has no doubt that he’s ready for the NHL, could find himself on Celebrini’s line once the Sharks begin training camp in September.

“That would be sick,” Stenberg said. “Just give him the puck, and he will fix it. He’s a special player.”

Celebrini was one of five alternate captains the Sharks had this past season, joining defensemen Mario Ferraro and forwards Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg.

In May, Celebrini captained Canada, a veteran team that included Sidney Crosby, at the World Championship in Switzerland.

As Celebrini gets set to begin his third season in the NHL, and will likely become one of the league’s highest-paid players in 2027 after his entry-level contract expires, becoming the Sharks’ next captain seems like a foregone conclusion.

“Anytime you hear from a player like that, with all he’s accomplished and achieved in such a short time in his career,” Verhoeff said Friday. “It was incredible.”

The Sharks began day two of the NHL draft with three picks, with the first one in the fourth round (127th overall), followed by ones in the sixth (174th), and seventh rounds (201st).