Kurtenbach: For Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini, the ‘C’ isn’t silent

Here s the bummer we were watching in the third period on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh The scoreboard read - in favor of the hometown Penguins Sidney Crosby the face of the NHL for two decades and one of the greatest players of all time was gliding around with that familiar terrifying ease putting on a clinic for a San Jose crew that is still very much a work in progress The column was written Seriously It was going to be another learning experience the polite euphemism we use in sports when the up-and-coming group doesn t show up for a championship But then the script didn t just get flipped it got shredded set on fire and sprinkled over the ice in a - overtime fever dream win that defied everything we ve come to expect from Sharks hockey in the last half-decade Macklin Celebrini happened Related Articles Kurtenbach Titans QB Cam Ward has the goods but expect the ers to win anyway Kurtenbach The NFL world expects the ers to arrangement Mac Jones this offseason I don t Kurtenbach Spencsanity is fun but the next five games will tell us who the Warriors really are Kurtenbach The ers formula for success couldn t be simpler Doing it That s a different story SF Giants fans deserve free agent signings by Buster Posey not chatter We throw around terms like generational so often in sports that the word has lost its meaning It s marketing fluff now with six or seven guys being once But what happened against the Penguins wasn t marketing It was bigger than that It was a coronation The box total says Celebrini filled the net with three points in the final of regulation and in overtime But it won t tell you he dragged a lifeless Sharks company back from a four-goal deficit in the third period culminating in an overtime mastery that had the hockey world befuddled and more than a bit scared It won t tell you that the most of critical play of the afternoon shows up in the penalty minutes category When Will Smith the other pillar of this franchise s future and Celebrini s winger took a tough but clean hit from Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon with to play in the third and the Sharks only down - Pittsburgh would go up - on the subsequent power play it was Celebrini who stepped in to defend his teammate In a sane world your -year-old franchise savior the kid with the golden hands does not fight It should be noted that the wunderkind did not in fact drop his gloves though he got in a meager padded hooks You don t take the Ferrari off-roading You don t use a Stradivarius to hammer a nail But when Smith went down hard Celebrini didn t look at the refs He didn t look at the bench either He looked for the fight He says he did what anyone on his company would have done I say he did what a captain does And that is where the battle changed That s where the narrative arc of the San Jose Sharks franchise might have changed too Right now the San Jose Sharks have a leadership structure that involves rotating accolades Celebrini wears an A on his jersey during home games It s a nice gesture a way to ease a kid into the burden of carrying a franchise The equipment managers haven t stitched the C on his chest yet The organization is trying to be individual and follow the proper evolution timeline Saturday night proved that the timeline is garbage You don t give a performer the captaincy because of his tenure You give it to him because when the ship is taking on water and the crew is ready to bail he grabs the wheel That s exactly what happened on Saturday Related Articles Sharks prospect Michael Misa not injured Ryan Warsofsky says Klingberg scores in overtime as Sharks complete unbelievable comeback Why paying huge price for Quinn Hughes didn t make sense for Mike Grier Sharks Misa to miss start of Canada s World Juniors camp What Sharks Klingberg declared he s come to realize as he gets up there in age When Celebrini fought the Sharks woke up The deficit which became - and felt insurmountable to outsiders like me hurriedly became irrelevant Celebrini played the final minutes of regulation and overtime like a man possessed seemingly offended by the idea that his crew would lose He didn t just play well he imposed his will on the tournament He looked across the ice at Crosby a man who has carried the Next One mantle for his entire life and essentially mentioned I ll take it from here After John Klingberg and William Eklund got the Sharks back within two Celebrini took over with an empty net scoring from the point on a one-timer and less than a minute later setting up Tyler Toffoli s tying figure with another slap shot that scrambled the Pens defense Klingberg s winner in overtime came on a give-and-go with Celebrini that left Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs with no chance This is what San Jose has been waiting for This is what made the tank at the Tank worth it It s not just the skill We knew the skill was coming We watched the draft highlights We knew he could shoot the puck through a keyhole But you can t manufacture heart You can t scout the kind of fire that makes a superstar threat a broken hand to defend a buddy That is the difference between a talent and a leader A talent scores points in a - loss Talent might push a unit towards a playoff berth or two But a leader turns - into - A leader turns a moribund franchise into a Stanley Cup contender faster than anyone expected There are plenty of superlatives being tossed around the Bay Area this morning Savior Phenom Magician They all fit They all seem apt But none of them quite capture what happened Saturday night The Sharks can keep the A on his jersey for as long as they want They can play the service-time games and preach patience to the media It doesn t matter anymore The locker room knows The fans know And after watching a four-goal lead evaporate into the ether because one kid decided he wasn t done playing the Pittsburgh Penguins and the rest of the NHL certainly know The jersey might not say it yet but make no mistake -year-old Celebrini is the captain of the San Jose Sharks They don t just go as he goes No they go when he says go This is his gang not just in theory but in practice The Sharks are in the best hook-throwing hands