Mackenzie Blackwood knew about the hype, but he wanted to see it in person.

Blackwood arrived in San Jose at the start of his second season with the club, and everyone was excited to see Macklin Celebrini , the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft. It didn’t take long for the kid to make an impression.

“First day I got there, when it was the captain’s skates, not even real training camp — I was like, ‘Damn, this kid is for real,’ ” Blackwood said. “The first day, he was scoring some crazy goals and I was like, ‘OK, maybe he’s just having a good day?’ But it was pretty impressive, and then the next day and the next day, he just kept doing it.

“He was just the best guy on the whole team at 18.”

Celebrini had a great rookie season with the Sharks , and finished third in the Calder Trophy

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