Sharks place rookie Macklin Celebrini on IR with a lower-body injury

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks placed rookie Macklin Celebrini on the injured reserve list on Saturday with a lower-body injury.

The move came two days after Celebrini made an impressive debut by recording a goal and an assist in an overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Celebrini was picked first overall in June and is being counted on to help spark a rebuild in San Jose. He was hampered in the preseason with a lower-body injury. Coach Ryan Warsofsky said Celebrini is week to week.

Players on injured reserve must miss seven days from the last game they played in, meaning the earliest Celebrini could return would be Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks and 2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard.

Celebrini became the youngest player in NHL history to record two points in the first period of his debut, according to Sportradar, doing it at 18 years, 119 days. Shane Doan held the previous mark of 18 years, 362 days, when he had two points for Winnipeg against Dallas in 1995.

He also scored the second-fastest first goal ever for a No. 1 pick, with his goal 7:01 into the opener trailing only Mario Lemieux, who scored 2:59 into his debut against Boston on Oct. 11, 1984.

Celebrini had 64 points in 38 games as a freshman at Boston University last season, when he won the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player.

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