Celebrini, Schaefer set for battle of most recent No. 1 picks when Sharks visit Islanders

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Seeing that he's on the opposite coast and they've had games on the same night three times, Macklin Celebrini admittedly hasn't seen a lot of Matthew Schaefer's explosive exploits in his first five NHL games.

But last year's No. 1 pick has seen enough of this year's No. 1 pick to know one thing for certain.

"It seems like he's doing just fine here," Celebrini said with a big smile after the San Jose Sharks practiced at Schaefer's new home, UBS Arena, on Monday.

Celebrini, the Sharks' 19-year-old center, will get the full Schaefer experience Tuesday when San Jose plays the New York Islanders and their 18-year-old rookie defenseman at UBS Arena (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSCA).

It will be the first time the top pick in the 2024 NHL Draft plays against the No. 1 selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.

"Especially with how highly everyone is talking about Matthew and the impact he's been able to have on his team, what he's been able to do in a short amount of time, I mean, everyone sees it," Celebrini said. "He's a No. 1 pick so he gets a lot of attention. It'll be a challenge."

The top-pick storyline isn't the only one to follow Tuesday; the game will also be the first time the top two picks of the 2025 NHL Draft will play against each other.

Michael Misa, selected by Sharks minutes after the Islanders took Schaefer on June 27, will also be in San Jose's lineup against New York.

"I think it's a little competition on the inside," Misa said. "He went one, I went two, so it's a match I've been looking for and I'm excited for it."

It's the second consecutive year the top two picks in the past two NHL drafts and the first and second picks of the most recent draft will all be playing in the same game.

Last season, center Connor Bedard (No. 1 in 2023) and defenseman Artyom Levshunov (No. 2 in 2024) played for the Chicago Blackhawks against Celebrini and the Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on March 13.

The previous time this happened was March 10, 2012, when Taylor Hall (No. 1 in 2010) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (No. 1 in 2011) played for the Edmonton Oilers against Gabriel Landeskog (No. 2 in 2011) and the Colorado Avalanche.

"Looking forward to playing this team," Schaefer said. "Very talented group, but I say this a lot, we're focused on what we have in here and we're ready."

Celebrini and Schaefer don't know each other at all other than a quick greeting in Toronto last year.

"Besides that, great hockey player," Schaefer said of Celebrini.

Schaefer and Misa, who are each from Southern Ontario (Schaefer is from Hamilton and Misa is from Oakville), have a much stronger bond having gone through the entire draft process together. They became tight along the way.

"I think everyone in the draft class wanted to go (number) one, but we were super close," Schaefer said. "That doesn't really get in the way. We both love playing hockey and whatever was going to happen was going to happen. We were always there to support. Whether it was the combine, through all the interviews, we were always there for each other. I think he loves it there in San Jose. I love it here. It worked out awesome."

Their connection extended into the offseason, when they would occasionally skate together.

"We'd have 3-on-3 games every Friday and I think he came out to a couple there," Schaefer said of Misa. "Then, one of our buddies, Jack Ivankovic, he went to Nashville (with the No. 58 pick), he'd get the ice, we'd get coaches out there and we'd get a lot of high-talented guys out there. They'd be really good skates, so I'd see him there quite a bit too."

Now, they'll all see each other on the ice in an NHL game. It's a chance for Schaefer and Celebrini to get to know each other in a different way, for Misa to show why he thinks he should have been No. 1 instead of Schaefer, for Schaefer to prove, again, why it was him.

"It's great for the game of hockey," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report