How about a Celebrini in Milan, eh?
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is taking the NHL
by storm — and his breakout has firmly placed him on Team Canada’s radar for
the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Now in just his second NHL season,
the 19-year-old has amassed 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) in 31 games,
ranking third in league scoring behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor
McDavid. He’s also part of a three-way tie for second in assists with 29,
alongside Martin Nečas and Mikko Rantanen, while McDavid leads the league with
32.
Although the Sharks often struggle when he isn’t driving the
play, Celebrini has been so consistently dynamic and influential that San Jose
remains firmly in the hunt for a playoff berth.
But like any young player, the dream remains to represent
your country in the Olympic Games. For Celebrini, it’s a no-brainer.
“I mean, for sure, in the summer, yeah,” Celebrini said of
the Olympics on Wednesday. “That’s a
goal. It’s a dream of every kid who grows up in Canada. Right when the season
started, that wasn’t really my focus; it’s still not my focus [because I] can’t
really control what they decide or what they do. But being on that team would
be a huge honor.”
Everyone knew Celebrini possessed elite talent, but this
season he has elevated his game to an entirely different stratum. Over the
offseason, the 19-year-old phenom represented Canada at the 2025 IIHF World
Championship, recording six points (three goals, three assists) in eight games.
More importantly, he wasn’t merely wearing the maple leaf — he was sharing the
ice with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, two of the defining Canadian
players of their generation. If skating alongside that caliber of greatness
doesn’t motivate you to raise your game, it’s hard to imagine what would.
It may be a familiar cliché, but it genuinely applies here:
the sky is the limit for Celebrini. He recently became the eighth-youngest
player in NHL history to reach 100 career points — a milestone shared with the
likes of Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, and Dale Hawerchuk. Through his first
100 games, he has amassed 40 goals, 66 assists, and three hat tricks, an
extraordinary level of production for a player his age. In an era defined by
parity and defensive structure, it’s exceedingly rare to see someone this young
exert such a profound influence on his team’s fortunes. Savor what you’re
witnessing.
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