Sharks’ Celebrini Will Get His Awards, But Not This Year

Macklin Celebrini is already considered a top player by his San Jose Sharks teammates and the rest of the league, despite having no awards.

His jump to superstardom this season has made him a household name across North America and, after his Olympic performance, maybe the world. With that being said, the Sharks center doesn’t have a single NHL award to his name yet. An injury during his first career game likely played a part in Montreal Canadiens d-man Lane Hutson winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

While the San Jose Sharks franchise cornerstone played all 82 games this season, he was not voted the winner of the Ted Lindsay Trophy. Unlike the rest of the NHL Awards, the votes will not be publicly viewed. That is because Ted Lindsay is voted on by the NHL Players Association (NHLPA). This year, the award went to Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

McDavid, who played with Celebrini as his winger for Team Canada at the Olympics, became just the second player ever to win this award five times. The only other player to achieve that is Wayne Gretzky.

For Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks, just being nominated for this award says a lot about what the rest of the league thinks of the 19-year-old. Celebrini’s record-breaking 115 points, Olympic silver medal, and his determination to drag the Sharks into playoff contention are all tremendous accolades.

Celebrini will get his awards; that isn’t a question, but just to be nominated by his peers for this award in his second season is an incredible feat. Just because the Sharks’ superstar didn’t win doesn’t mean his season should have any less value than McDavid’s season with the Oilers. McDavid had to drag an incomplete team to the postseason, and the fellow NHL players noticed.