SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini raised his arms in celebration of what he thought was linemate William Eklund’s goal.

The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks soon learned something different.

“I was like, ‘Nice goal,’ and (Eklund) was like, ‘I didn’t shoot, you did it,'” the center said with a laugh after scoring a goal and one in San Jose’s 5-0 win in his NHL debut template had achieved. 4-overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center on Thursday.

“I mean, I thought he was just super excited that he scored, but I think he was happy for me.”

It wasn’t the ending the Sharks were hoping for, but there was still plenty to be excited about, especially for Celebrini.

The 18-year-old became the youngest player in Sharks history to score in his NHL debut. He is the first Sharks player to score in his first NHL game since forward Danil Gushchin did so on April 1, 2023. He is the second fastest No. 1 pick to score in his league debut. Mario Lemieux scored 2:59 in his first game with the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 11, 1984.

At 18 years, 119 days, Celebrini is the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score a goal in his debut, behind Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (18 years, 31 days) and former NHL forward Eddie Olczyk ( 18 years, 56 days). Bobby Carpenter (18 years, 86 days), Dainius Zubrus (18 years, 111 days) and Rick Nash (18 years, 116 days).

“He did what everyone expected him to do,” said right wing Tyler Toffoli, whose first goal for the Sharks came at 17:14 of the first period on a pass from behind the net from Celebrini.

“He made some really good plays. I think at the end of the day he obviously has to be excited for himself personally, but he wants to win and he’s like everyone else here.”