It's early, but Macklin Celebrini appears to be living up to the hype.
The San Jose Sharks phenom was named the NHL's rookie of the month for November on Sunday after collecting seven goals and five assists in 14 games.
Celebrini, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft.
He missed three weeks in October after re-aggravating a hip injury suffered during the pre-season, but has seemed to be on a mission ever since returning.
He edged Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, Sharks teammate Will Smith, New York Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov and Florida Panthers forward Mackie Samoskevich for the honour.
The hot streak has not only earned Celebrini, the Vancouver native, his first bit of NHL hardware — it's landed him on the radar to be selected by Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
The roster submission deadline is Monday, with full squads set to be revealed Wednesday.
Celebrini is the first Sharks player to be named rookie of the month since forward Tomas Hertl in October 2013.
His bid for the Calder Trophy will continue Tuesday when the Sharks visit the Washington Capitals.
Philadelphia's Matvei Michkov, the seventh pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, was October's rookie of the month.
--with files from The Canadian Press
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