As the San Jose Sharks were concluding warm-ups ahead of Monday afternoon’s game with the Bruins at TD Garden, the two youngest players on the roster were among the last to exit the ice. Will Smith, 19, and Macklin Celebrini, 18, got in a few more shots, then each retrieved a puck and tossed it over the glass to young spectators before making their way down the tunnel to the locker room.
That each had fans clamoring for their attention spoke not only to their status as budding stars in the NHL, but also to their ties to Massachusetts. Smith, a native of Lexington, played for Boston College last season and led the country in points (71) and assists (46) as the Eagles advanced to the NCAA championship game. Celebrini spent last season at Boston University, winning the Hobey Baker Award and leading the Terriers to the Frozen Four.
Now Celebrini and Smith are looked upon as building blocks for the Sharks, with the franchise using a “The Future is Teal” hashtag on social media.
Looking ahead is probably a wise move, considering the organization has not reached the playoffs since the 2018-19 season. That capped a stretch in which the Sharks reached the postseason 14 times in 15 seasons from 2003-19. Although they are the two most recent first-round picks for the Sharks (Smith was selected fourth overall in 2023, Celebrini first in 2024), they are not the only young players with Bay State connections on the roster.
Lincoln native Collin Graf, 22, signed with the Sharks last spring after his junior season at Quinnipiac, and Southborough’s Henry Thrun, 23, joined the Sharks in 2023 after three seasons at Harvard. Former UMass defenseman Mario Ferraro is the grizzled veteran of the bunch at 26.
Factor in coach Ryan Warsofsky, who grew up in Marshfield and graduated from Curry College, and there was a crunch for tickets in the locker room.
“For the first time since I’ve been with the team, team ops sent out a note saying that we’re running low on tickets for this game, so I made sure to get mine in early,” said Thrun, who made his way to the stands after the game to pose for a picture with friends and family.
Thrun and Smith received cheers from their respective contingents when they were announced as starters ahead of Monday’s puck drop. Smith’s goal in the second period elicited an even bigger response, his wrister off a give and go with Mikael Granlund beating Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo short side to knot the score at 2.
“It was pretty amazing,” said Smith, who was sporting a maroon suit when he met with the media postgame, a fashion choice he acknowledged was a nod to his season wearing maroon and gold for the Eagles. “Having all these family and friends here, it’s pretty special. This game is for all of them, too.”
He later assisted on Fabian Zetterlund’s goal that lifted the Sharks to a 3-2 lead and gave Smith a 7-10—17 line in 41 games. The Bruins answered with four goals in the third period to rally for the 6-3 win.
Monday’s game marked the first time that Smith and Celebrini skated at the Garden as teammates, although the two squared off twice last season, with Celebrini scoring a pair of goals to lead BU to a 4-3 win in the Beanpot. Smith answered in the Hockey East championship, scoring four goals to earn MVP honors as the Eagles took the title, 6-2.
“A little bit of different circumstances, but it’s definitely cool to come back and play in this building,” said Celebrini, who has 13 goals and 19 assists in 37 games. “I had some mixed memories from here last year. But just looking back on my time in Boston, a lot of great memories. Just to be back here is really cool.”
Whereas Smith and Celebrini have established spots on the roster, Graf began the season with the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL, putting up six goals and 20 assists in 29 games before joining the Sharks for the last nine games. He’s registered a pair of assists but is still in search of his first NHL goal.
As recently as two weeks ago, Smith, Celebrini, and Graf were skating together on the third line, but for Monday’s matinee, they were on separate lines, with Smith at right wing on the top line with Granlund and Zetterlund. Celebrini centered the second line between William Eklund and Alexander Wennberg. Graf skated right wing on the third line with Carl Grundstrom and Luke Kunin.
Whether they are reunited on the same line, the trio is enjoying going through the journey together. All three were All-Americans and Hobey Baker finalists in 2024.
Quinnipiac faced BU and BC in Graf’s final season with the Bobcats, losing by a goal each time.
“At development camp over the summer, it gave us a couple of things to talk about, for sure,” said Graf. “Unfortunately, I lost to both of them, so I took the heat on that one. But it’s always nice to have that common background, whether it be on the ice and teams you played and guys you played, or just the whole college experience. From school to school, it’s always sort of the same idea.”
The trip home would be another learning experience, off the ice in honoring ticket requests and making time to see friends and family, as well as on the ice, where the Sharks could not hold on to a third-period lead and dropped to 14-29-6 for a league-worst 34 points. Their coach liked how his young charges handled the short turnaround.
“I thought it was good,” said Warsofsky. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion that goes into all of it. A lot of family and friends, you get pulled in different directions. So I thought the guys did a really good job. I’m sure there’s some nerves that played into it.
“But for them to experience that, I think they’ll remember it the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, we don’t come out on the right end of it, but I think it’s a combination of a lot of hard work to get here, and they deserve to soak in the moment.”
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.