Yahoo Sports Sharks Rookies Explain Their Game Day Superstitions
San Jose Sharks rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith will be doing their pregame traditions for a long time.
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Both players' superstitions were seen during the Sharks' first and second preseason games. Celebrini showed his routine right from the start of warmups.
The 2024 No. 1 pick was last on the ice for warmups, last off the ice for warmups, and was the last person through the Shark head during the intro.
"At Boston University, that's how it worked. I had the highest number, so I was last in line," Celebrini said. "I did that a little bit before that, too. I just wanted to keep it going."
Smith sold out Celebrini by telling reporters about his near miss with hitting one of the shark's teeth.
"We were laughing about the Shark head," Smith said. "I think he almost hit it...He almost hit a tooth," Smith said.
"I'm not used to having something on the ice," Celebrini laughed. "It was a close call."
Unfortunately for Celebrini, once Marc-Edouard Vlasic returns from injury, he likely will be the one to go last through the head.
"He can go behind me if he wants," Celebrini laughed, understanding Vlasic's longevity with the team.
As far as the rest of Celebrini's gameday tradition, he said he likes to keep it loose. He doesn't want to be stuck in the same routine and have everything thrown off if something goes wrong. He admitted he does have a few things he does every single time, but nothing that requires extreme precision.
Like Celebrini, Smith's entry to the ice at Boston College was based on jersey number. Smith wore No. 6 at BC, so naturally, he was toward the front of the line, which he continued during his first preseason appearance.
"I usually like getting out there a little bit more in the front of the group," Smith said. "At school, we were in number order, and I always had a low number, so I was always going out quick."
Smith said he has more routines before the game during off-ice warmups.
"Some of it is my own stuff that I don't really share too much," Smith said. "[I] kind of have my own superstitions of what time I'm eating at before games, when I want to get there, how I tape my stick."
Hockey players are inherently superstitious. Sidney Crosby has his McDonald's logo warmup, Brent Burns has his dancing in warmups, and Connor McDavid has used the same socks to skate in for a long time. Don't forget Mikael Granlund uses black stick tape for the first two periods of a game before switching to white for the third.
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