It takes one to know one.
Sidney Crosby, the 2005 first-overall pick, was effusive in his praise of Macklin Celebrini, the 2024 first-overall pick, before Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins take on Celebrini’s San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Monday night.
“He’s looking like he’s everything everyone anticipated he’d be,” Crosby said.
Crosby spoke about what he can tell about Celebrini, what he saw from Celebrini at a camp two summers ago, and his memories on how to handle being on a struggling team as a teenager.
Crosby’s impressions of the San Jose Sharks’ star rookie:
I think he’s having a great year.
I think just the more he plays, more comfortable he gets, more confidence he gets, and it looks like he’s having a lot of fun and playing good hockey.
He’s going to be a big part of their team from now on. He’s looking like he’s everything everyone anticipated he’d be.
Crosby, on a one-on-one battle that Macklin Celebrini remembered when they played each other in November:
I mean, there’s different reasons or different things that as a young guy you remember, and I guess he values the one-on-one battles and winning those and knows the importance of it.
I think it’s different for everybody, but you can tell that he’s committed to play both sides of the puck, and he cares a lot about being a two-way player, and his skill and everything speaks for itself, but for a young player to be interested in playing on the other side of the puck and want to get better there, that’s something I think any team loves to see.
Crosby, on if he had a moment like that in his career:
I think there’s a lot. I mean, I think my first shift, I had a chance right in the slot, had a chance to score on my first shot, and my first shift, and Martin Brodeur stopped me, and that was my “Welcome to the League” moment. I don’t usually like missing those, but I remember in that moment, I was still pretty happy to be where I was at, being in the NHL, playing against guys that I had grown up watching.
Crosby, on the San Jose Sharks retiring Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau’s jerseys:
So deserving for guys that you know did so much for this organization, for the fan base, how consistent they were, what they meant to the franchise. Yeah, I think that’s a perfect way to honor them. And you know, from playing against them and playing with them, they’re just great guys to be around. They love the game.
Crosby, on being on the ice with Celebrini when he met him in the summer of 2023:
I had met him before [at a camp], so just seeing how he was doing, being able to relate to just all the attention, all the demands, all the things that come with being in his position.
It happens pretty quick, and it’s always a busy time leading up to your first year with a lot of expectations. So I was just more interested to see how he was doing with all that than talking hockey.
Yeah, we skated together.
Just really dynamic, sees the ice well, great shot. I think he just does everything really well.
You look at different guys, maybe their speed sticks out or their shot or their playmaking. I think he’s just really solid in every one of those areas.
Just from watching briefly, I think he’s a guy that really takes a lot of pride in being a two-way guy, too. So he cares about doing good defensively. And I’m sure his coaches like that, like to see that. That always takes a little bit more time, but you can tell he’s really conscious of that.
Crosby’s advice to Celebrini, both teenage No. 1 picks on struggling teams in their rookie season:
I think just enjoy it. I mean, nobody likes losing, no matter if you’re in your first year, your 20th year. The reason he plays is to win games, and that’s what it’s about.
But I think for him, just understanding that process.
He’s a competitive guy. He wants to win every night. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s how you have to be.
But you just gotta enjoy it, though it’s your first year, and a lot of new things, a lot of great memories from this year.
