Boston University Professional Athletes

The Comeback

Macklin Celebrini's first week as San Jose Sharks captain was supposed to be a statement. It became something more complicated — and ultimately, more compelling.

The Boston University product opened the season on a tear, racking up five assists in just two games. Then, before San Jose's matchup against the Dallas Stars, the Sharks announced their captain would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. The concern was immediate: without Celebrini, San Jose was routed 5-0, with BU alum Jake Oettinger — now in a Stars uniform — turning away all 14 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season.

The injury cloud lingered. Celebrini missed a second consecutive game against the St. Louis Blues — a national broadcast appearance the Sharks had to manage without their marquee name — though San Jose still managed a 3-2 overtime win. He was listed as a game-time decision heading into that contest before ultimately being held out.

By Saturday, October 10, the story had a better ending. Celebrini returned to the lineup against the Edmonton Oilers and made the most of it. Set up by Michael Misa winning a board battle, Celebrini snapped a shot top shelf past Tristan Jarry for his first goal of the season — a finish as clean as the narrative arc it closed.

The Sharks lost to the Oilers 3-1, but Celebrini's goal ensured the week ended on a note that mattered.

Oettinger's Moment — Then a Stumble

While Celebrini was working through his injury, Oettinger was building one of his own storylines in Dallas. The former BU goaltender — now with the Stars — posted back-to-back shutouts, including the 5-0 blanking of San Jose and a 4-0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres in which he made 26 saves. By week's end, though, Oettinger returned to earth in a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, allowing one goal on 19 shots (.950 SV%).

The Rest of the Terriers

Jack Eichel continued his strong start in Vegas, posting a goal and an assist in a dramatic comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs — a 4-3 shootout victory in which the Golden Knights erased a 3-0 deficit. Eichel extended his point streak to five games and picked up four points across two Golden Knights wins during the week. A separate report noted Eichel as one of five emerging storylines for Vegas just one week into the season.

Elsewhere across the BU diaspora, the week was quieter. Charlie Coyle chipped in an assist for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Clayton Keller added an assist as the Utah Mammoth downed the Sabres 4-1. Brady Tkachuk finished the week a minus-1 as the Florida Panthers fell to the Minnesota Wild 4-1. Trevor Zegras also ended at minus-1 in a rough 5-1 loss for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins.

The headline, though, belonged to Celebrini. A week that started with a captaincy, detoured through an injury scare, and ended with a top-shelf snipe is the kind of early-season drama BU fans will be tracking all year.

Jack Eichel Reaches a Career Landmark

Jack Eichel didn't just open the Vegas Golden Knights' season — he stamped his name into NHL history doing it. The Boston University product recorded a goal and two assists in Vegas' 5-2 season-opening win over the Chicago Blackhawks, crossing the 700-point threshold in the process and finishing the night at 701 for his career.

The milestone drew immediate praise from new Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig, who called Eichel an elite 200-foot player after earning his first career NHL coaching victory. Eichel himself made a point of sharing the moment, visibly celebrating rookie Trevor Connelly's first NHL goal as Vegas rolled to a comfortable win. It was the kind of night that encapsulates why BU fans have long considered Eichel one of the program's crown jewels — dominant, complete, and still very much in his prime.

For context on how rarefied that air is: 700 career points puts Eichel firmly in the conversation among the NHL's elite offensive centers of his generation.

Celebrini Announces Himself as a Captain

Across the league, another Terrier was impossible to ignore. Macklin Celebrini — recently named the youngest captain in San Jose Sharks history — delivered a statement week. He posted three assists in a 4-3 overtime win over the Florida Panthers, helping the Sharks knock off one of the conference's most hyped rosters. Celebrini had already flashed in the preseason, recording a goal and an assist in a win over the Golden Knights, and his captain's debut suggests the Sharks' faith in him is well-placed.

Terriers Across the Ice

The supporting cast of BU alumni had a notable week as well.

Brady Tkachuk, now suiting up alongside brother Matthew after a blockbuster trade to the Florida Panthers, returned to practice after a preseason scare and is expected to anchor what many NHL coaches consider the most dangerous line in the sport. A majority of coaches surveyed by The Sporting News identified the Panthers — built around the Tkachuk brothers and Aleksander Barkov — as overwhelming Stanley Cup favorites for 2026-27. Tkachuk wasted no time making a physical mark in Florida's colors, winning his first fight as a Panther in the team's early road swing.

Charlie Coyle, now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, put together a productive week as well. He combined with Zach Werenski for five assists in a 6-3 opening win over the Buffalo Sabres, a strong early statement from a Columbus team looking to build on last season's momentum.

Charlie McAvoy is a notable absence for Bruins fans to track. The BU blueliner — fresh off a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics with Team USA — is serving a suspension to open the season, leaving Boston shorthanded on the back end as they navigate their early schedule.

Trevor Zegras made news for all the wrong reasons in Philadelphia, drawing a penalty under the NHL's jersey tuck rule and sparking a team-wide act of solidarity — the entire Flyers roster warmed up with jerseys tucked in before their next game in defiant response.

It was, in short, a week that reminded the hockey world just how deep BU's NHL footprint runs — from record-setters in Vegas to captains in San Jose to Cup contenders in Florida.

Celebrini Wears the 'C' — and the Weight of a Franchise

The San Jose Sharks had a simple message for Macklin Celebrini this week: the team is yours. The 20-year-old Boston University product was named the 11th captain in Sharks franchise history ahead of the 2026-27 season, making him the youngest active captain in the NHL. The announcement was made by GM Mike Grier, and the moment carried extra weight when Sharks legend Joe Thornton personally presented Celebrini with his new jersey.

Celebrini described it as "an amazing honour," noting the support and leadership around him in San Jose. That's not false modesty — the Sharks are a team in transition, and placing the captaincy on a 20-year-old is a franchise-defining bet. It follows what multiple outlets called a historic age-19 campaign that cemented his status as the team's cornerstone. San Jose has also been floated as a potential landing spot for Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a move that would further accelerate the rebuild around its new captain.

Celebrini's BU lineage makes the moment resonate beyond the Bay Area. He's the latest in a long line of Terriers to ascend to a leadership role at the highest level — and at 20, he's doing it faster than almost anyone in league history.

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Around the NHL: Other BU Alumni Making Noise

Trevor Zegras had a week that was more about his waistband than his wrist shot. The Flyers forward was penalized two minutes against the Boston Bruins for improperly wearing his equipment — specifically, failing to tuck in his jersey under the NHL's new uniform rule. Philadelphia's response? The team staged a coordinated protest during warm-ups, with multiple Flyers players tucking their jerseys in defiantly. It's a minor rules story, but Zegras landed at the center of it.

Brady Tkachuk continued making his mark with the Florida Panthers, scoring his first goal in a Florida uniform on the power play — fed by none other than his brother Matthew. The moment was notable beyond the family reunion: the Tkachuk brothers are reportedly closing in on an exclusive NHL feat as siblings playing simultaneously for the same team. Brady also completed a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Hurricanes — a goal, an assist, and a fight — dropping the gloves with Carolina defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault.

Jack Eichel delivered a vintage preseason performance for the Vegas Golden Knights, posting a three-point night — including the overtime winner — in a 5-4 victory over the Utah Mammoth.

Joel Farabee is carrying a heavy workload in Calgary. Flames head coach Ryan Huska has assigned the 26-year-old winger a lengthy list of roles this season after he arrived in Calgary unsure of his fit. He also scored and added an assist in a 3-1 preseason win over Vancouver. Huska appears to have found his answer.

Jordan Greenway provided a scare in Chicago, but the Blackhawks issued a positive injury update on the winger, with head coach Jeff Blashill confirming encouraging news about his recovery.

A busy week across the NHL — and BU alumni were impossible to miss in the middle of it.

Charlie McAvoy isn't losing sleep over the Bruins captaincy conversation — and he wants everyone to know it.

As Boston heads into the 2026-27 NHL season, the question of who wears the 'C' has hovered over Bruins camp, with McAvoy and star winger David Pastrnak both viewed as legitimate candidates. The BU product addressed the speculation head-on, offering a message that was equal parts diplomatic and genuine.

"Whatever happens, it's out of my hands, but I don't think there would be any friction," McAvoy said. "We lean on everybody."

It's the kind of locker-room composure that has defined McAvoy's tenure in Boston — steady, team-first, and unbothered by the noise. Whether or not he ends up with the letter on his jersey, his standing as one of the Bruins' foundational pieces isn't in question. The fact that two players of his and Pastrnak's caliber are in the conversation at the same time is, by any measure, a good problem for Boston to have.

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Eichel Hungry for More in Vegas

Across the league, fellow BU alumnus Jack Eichel made his own statement as the Golden Knights opened training camp this week. Vegas, coming off a surprising Stanley Cup Final run that ended two wins short of a championship, arrived to camp with a chip on their shoulder — and Eichel set the tone.

"You don't forget coming two games short of winning the Stanley Cup," the Golden Knights center said on the first day of camp.

Eichel has been one of the NHL's most dynamic centers since his trade to Vegas, and with another deep run fresh in memory, the Golden Knights enter the season with unfinished business as their north star. For a BU product who has had to fight through injury and franchise upheaval to reach this stage, the urgency is personal.

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Tkachuk on the Move

Brady Tkachuk is among the most notable roster shakeups of the NHL offseason, landing with the Florida Panthers in a new chapter for the physical winger out of BU. Tkachuk was flagged by Yahoo Sports as one of the "familiar faces in new places" around the league this season — a significant storyline heading into the year for a player who built his identity with the Ottawa Senators franchise.

Whether Tkachuk can translate his north-end tenacity into a winning environment with a Panthers team built for contention will be one of the more compelling subplots to track from the BU alumni ledger this year.

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BU's NHL footprint remains as wide as any program in the country — with McAvoy anchoring a Bruins blue line, Eichel chasing a ring in Vegas, and Tkachuk starting fresh in South Florida. The next six months will tell a lot about where each of their careers goes from here.