SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini might be the only one on the San Jose Sharks not excited to talk about his remarkable season that has the 19-year-old accomplishing feats only some of the greatest players ever have done at his age.
Celebrini delivered another signature performance on Tuesday night when he completed his third career hat trick with an overtime goal that gave the Sharks a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth and put Celebrini in elite company.
The three goals gave Celebrini 30 points in his team's first 20 games of a season, a mark reached only by two other teenagers in NHL history with Wayne Gretzky doing it in 1980-81 and Sidney Crosby in 2006-07. Mario Lemieux also did it in his first 20 games in 1984-85 but he missed seven games during that stretch.
“It’s cool, but that’s the first time I’m hearing about it,” Celebrini said, quickly trying to dismiss any comparison to those legends. “I don’t really want to hear about that. That’s not what’s important.”
Celebrini's teammates have no hesitation talking about the impact he has made on the franchise since being picked first overall in the 2024 draft. Celebrini had 25 goals and 38 assists as an 18-year-old rookie but has taken his game to new heights so far this season with 13 goals and 17 assists.
“Special. He’s special,” said defenseman Vincent Desharnais, who has played with Connor McDavid and Crosby in his career. “I think everyone in here, everyone in this building sees how special he is as a player, as a human being as well. He’s not a (jerk) and walking around and saying that he’s the best player. He always wants to get better every day. I’m sure next skate he’s going to be one of the first guys on the ice to work on something else. So it’s impressive to see and it kind of inspires everyone.”
Celebrini has provided reason for optimism for a Sharks franchise that had the worst record in the NHL in each of the past two seasons and hasn't made the playoffs since the 2018-19 season.
He is part of a young core that features several promising players with more in the pipeline who are expected to be the building blocks for a contender in the coming years.
The two main pieces of that rebuild right now are Celebrini and linemate Will Smith, the No. 4 overall pick in 2023. The 20-year-old Smith has seven goals and 11 assists with the latest coming on a deft cross-ice pass that set up Celebrini's first goal of the night less than two minutes into the game.
“Those guys obviously you see the chemistry,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “They can make things happen. I still think there’s another level to be honest they can both get to within their game. Not just the points and the goals, the assists. For us to win consistently and really go on and really start building this thing, we have to have an understanding how we need to play the game and winning habits and what it looks like.”
Warsofsky said what sets Celebrini apart from other young stars is his “hockey sense.” That's a trait he often sees lacking as players spend so much time working on their skills that they neglect that aspect of the game.
That has helped Celebrini become an instant leader on the team despite his age as he earned the title of alternate captain this season and is being groomed to wear the “C” on his sweater soon.
His play has helped the Sharks rebound from a six-game winless streak to open the season with nine wins in their last 14 games that has them at least in range of a playoff spot after winning just 39 games combined the past two seasons.
San Jose has shown more resiliency this season, evidenced by the response in overtime after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period against Utah.
“Coming into this year all of us want to take that next step as a team," Celebrini said. “This is a game we probably would have lost last year. So I think just showing the steps we are taking.”
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San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) shoots during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI said it found explosive residue in a Pennsylvania storage unit as part of an investigation into two men charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest outside the home of New York City’s mayor.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told police after their arrests Saturday that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law enforcement officials and a criminal complaint.
The men live in the Philadelphia suburbs and traveled together to New York City to carry out the attack near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, officials said. In response to police questioning, Balat said he hoped to accomplishing something “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people, the complaint said.
Overnight Monday, FBI bomb technicians conducted controlled detonations of the explosive residue found at a public storage facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near where Balat’s family lives, the agency said.
The explosion resulted in “several loud bangs,” the Middletown Township Police Department said Tuesday, adding that there was no threat to residents. The FBI said Monday that it had conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday called the attack "absolutely despicable" and said government investigators and prosecutors won’t rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Much remains unknown about the motives, planning and relationship between Balat and Kayumi.
Court documents show Emir Balat’s father, Selahattin Balat, is a native of Turkey who was granted asylum in the United States in 1998 and later became a U.S. citizen. In a 2009 bankruptcy filing, he listed his occupation as painter and said he had three children.
Emir Balat is a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne. A school spokesperson said he enrolled in a virtual program in September and had not attended in-person classes since.
His lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said his client had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life, without elaborating. Essmidi said he did not believe the two young men had known each other for long.
Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) north of Langhorne. He graduated in 2024 from Council Rock High School North, according to a school spokesperson.
His attorney did not speak to reporters following a court hearing Monday and declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi drove to New York City on Saturday and joined a throng of counterprotesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by the far-right Christian nationalist Jake Lang.
Journalists photographed Balat hurling a device, smoking with a lit fuse, that was later found to contain the explosive TATP. The object, which also contained nuts and bolts, extinguished itself without harming anyone.
Balat then dropped a second object near some police officers and tried to run, but was tackled and arrested, according to a court complaint.
Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after their court appearance on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. They were not required to enter a plea.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday there were no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran, but said the city remained on a heightened state of alert.
On Tuesday afternoon, a park near the mayor’s residence was evacuated and several surrounding streets were closed as police investigated reports of a “suspicious device.”
The object was later determined to be non-threatening.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not home at the time and Gracie Mansion was not evacuated, a City Hall spokesperson said.
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Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this report.
NYPD police officer and K-9 dog walks outside Carl Schurz Park as they investigate suspicious device, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jake Lang demonstrates outside Gracie Mansion after a news conference by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani , Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference at Gracie Mansion, Monday, March 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Emir Balat, left, and Ibrahim Kayumi, far right, are escorted into Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, March, 9, 2026, for arraignment on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction after they were arrested for bringing and throwing explosives at a protest two days earlier. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
From left, defense attorney Mehdi Essmidi, defendant Emir Balat, defense attorney Michael Arthus and defendant Ibrahim Kayumi wait for the start of arraignment proceedings in Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, March, 9, 2026, on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction in New York after Balat and Kayumi were arrested for bringing and throwing explosives at a protest two days earlier. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Police detain Emir Balat after he attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device during a counterprotest against far right influencer Jake Lang staging an anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Mansion, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Julius Constantine Motal)
