Next face of the NHL? Macklin Celebrini’s family, friends, teammates on why he’ll live up to the hype – The Athletic

When Macklin Celebrini returned home this summer after workouts with idols Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he was beaming.

Older brother Aiden jokes that he had to hide in his bedroom of their childhood home in Vancouver to avoid the “Nate and Sid” stories.

“He’s like, ‘Sid is the perfect human,’” Aiden recalls. “Like, ‘the best guy, best athlete.’ He wouldn’t stop talking about it. It’s crazy. I’ve never heard Mac more starstruck than he was after hanging out with Sid.”

Crosby, of course, has been the face of the NHL for a long time. The gold standard. And Celebrini says playing with Crosby and MacKinnon at the World Championship “ rubbed off” on him. Seeing how they trained. How they carried themselves.

The rest of the league already sees some similarities.

In The Athletic’s poll of star players at the NHL Media Tours in Vegas and Milan, Celebrini was the runaway winner in being voted the “next face of the NHL.” The San Jose Sharks star got 24 votes, with probable 2026 No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna the next closest at four. One Western Conference player described Celebrini as a “cross-breed of Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron.”

That’s high praise for a kid who hasn’t even played 100 NHL games yet.

Celebrini still has teenage moments, from dressing up as Lloyd Christmas from “Dumb and Dumber” on Halloween to his viral man-on-the-street “interview” in New York. But those who have played with and against him believe he has the combination of skill, maturity, personality and relentless work ethic to be the league’s next standard-bearer.

And Celebrini showed it on a big stage Thursday night, becoming the youngest player to ever score a hat trick at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

Celebrini’s five-point night, including an assist on Will Smith’s winner, gave the Sharks their first victory of the season. It put him at 11 points in seven games this season, tied for 11th in the NHL.

The list of teenagers with multiple five-point games in NHL history? Celebrini, plus Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk and Bryan Trottier.

Macklin Celebrini now is the youngest to record a hat trick at MSG 😱 pic.twitter.com/w2kmBFQTr3

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) October 24, 2025

“I think those guys, you see this 18-year-old kid, and the first time you’re probably playing against him, it’s like, ‘What’s this kid? Holy!’” says Jay Pandolfo, who played 15 seasons in the NHL and was Celebrini’s coach at Boston University. “But it’s just the way he competes and plays at both ends of the ice. He never cheats the game. And there’s his ability. He can kind of do it all.

“There’s not many 18-year-olds stepping into the NHL, which is obviously the best league in the world, and have that mature game. It doesn’t really happen. Even some of the other superstars that have come in the league, I don’t think their games were as mature as Macklin’s at 18.”

Plenty more to dig into with the Rangers, but before that: Holy cow, it’s fun watching Macklin Celebrini play hockey.
pic.twitter.com/LVYdrZhd2k

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) October 24, 2025

Celebrini says his “welcome to the NHL” moment came a couple of months into his rookie season last year.

He was in the faceoff circle, and Brady Tkachuk came over. The Senators’ captain started to give him some compliments.

“The next shift, he kind of lit me up in the corner,” Celebrini says, laughing. “That was a good one.”

It didn’t take long for Celebrini to show he belonged. He racked up 25 goals in his rookie season and scored nearly a point per game, with 63 in 70 games, finishing third in the Calder Trophy voting. It was an impressive entrance into the NHL after just one year at Boston University.

“I believed in myself and I knew I could make an impact,” Celebrini says. “But at the same time, you have that doubt. I mean, this is the league I grew up watching, and it was the best players in the world. So there was a certain amount of respect, and I was kind of nervous. All those emotions went into it. After the first couple games and weeks, I felt like I kind of settled in.”

Celebrini credits the Sharks veterans for making him more comfortable. One of the reasons Tyler Toffoli signed a four-year deal with the Sharks in July of 2024 was the infusion of young talent he saw coming in, with Smith taken No. 4 the year before, then Celebrini. William Eklund was No. 7 in 2021.

Toffoli has played with many touted young players in his career, from Jack Hughes to Cole Caufield to Quinn Hughes, but the former teammate that Celebrini reminds him of most — Crosby.

“For sure,” Toffoli says. “He works so hard, he wants the puck and demands the puck and holds onto pucks and is super strong. That’s something that Mac does very well. He definitely took control of games last season, which was really impressive for an 18-year-old.”

Toffoli sees Celebrini’s compete level as his biggest asset, opening things up for someone who already has “all the skills in the world.” It starts with work ethic.

“He’s definitely a really intense person,” Toffoli says. “When he’s at the rink, he’s extremely dialed in, and he’s always taking care of his body and doing whatever he can to stay healthy. But at the end of the day, he’s still an 18-year-old or 19-year-old kid. He likes to have fun away from the rink, whether that’s playing golf, going to dinners or whatever. He’s a lot of fun and has a lot of energy.”

Toffoli says it’s something he sees a lot, being around Celebrini and Smith, who were like two peas in a pod after getting to know each other at Sharks development camp last year. Smith usually drives the hijinx, with Celebrini playing along. That includes an already infamous sleepover in Toffoli’s room on the road last season. It started off as a joke, with Smith saying on their charter plane to Toffoli that if all three of them scored in the next game, they’d all share a room. Neither Celebrini nor Smith thought about it much during the game, but then Toffoli scored on an empty-netter that sealed the bet. There were two beds in Toffoli’s room, so a cot was brought in.

“We won the games and the vibes were pretty high, so it ended up unfolding,” Toffoli says. “We had the day off the next day, so it all worked out perfectly.”

Celebrini and Smith had been rivals for years at world juniors for Canada (Celebrini) and the U.S. (Smith) and at Boston University (Celebrini) and Boston College (Smith). That all went away when they connected as NHL teammates. They bonded over common interests like cards, golf, ping pong and movies. Having another teenager you can hang out with in a league full of veterans made the transition easier for both.

They’ve got a shared TikTok account where they post videos, like the “Dumb and Dumber” skit.

“The one thing that surprised me is I didn’t know he could act,” Aiden jokes.

Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini have become fast friends in San Jose. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Celebrini’s and Smith’s favorite times together, though, are the ones spent at Patrick Marleau’s and Joe Thornton’s houses.

Sharks general manager Mike Grier talked with the Celebrini family after the draft about the possibility of living with Thornton, the Hall of Famer and former face of the franchise. Smith says when he was considering signing, the Sharks brought up the idea of living with either of the former team legends.

Celebrini ended up with Thornton and Smith with Marleau.

“He’s over at my house (Marleau’s) every day, and I’m over there all the time too, so we pretty much live at both houses,” Smith says. “He moved out here when he was 18, and I was 19, so you’re still a college kid moving away from your family. For me, it was across the country. I think getting to be with family and with their boys was definitely helpful, and you’ve got to get away from hockey when you go home.”

They spend a lot of time playing knee hockey and video games at the franchise legends’ houses and two-on-two basketball in Thornton’s driveway with him and his son.

Who wins?

“Me and Mack,” Smith says.

Smith saw the player poll about Celebrini being the next face of the league, and he wasn’t surprised.

“It’s super cool,” he says. “Obviously, people think that highly of him. It means something. He does everything well.”

“It’s very well deserved,” Toffoli adds. “Him going to the World Championship last year … he got to play with Nate and Sid, and that was a really good team that went over there. So for them to think the same thing that I think, it definitely shows that he’s growing on a lot of people. That guys recognize him on the ice.”

Why can Celebrini be that kind of guy?

“It’s everything,” Toffoli says. “It starts with how he handles himself on and off the ice. It shows the maturity that he already has as a 19-year-old. It also shows the respect guys have for him, because he’s a great, great player overall.”

Jack Harvey and his Boston University teammates often gathered in their campus apartment to watch Sharks games last season.

Celebrini had lived there a year earlier with Harvey, Aiden, Gavin McCarthy, Shane LaChance and Tom Willander. They’d watch sports, play video games — the usual stuff. Celebrini is still part of the team’s group chat, chiming in from time to time.

It hit home when they were watching Celebrini take off in his rookie year.

“It was amazing,” Harvey says. “But honestly, I wasn’t surprised at all. I thought he was ready to take the next step. His game just translates well to the pros. He does everything.”

Harvey knew Celebrini before he showed up for his one year at Boston University. They played together with the USHL Chicago Steel.

His first impression? “He’s not cocky. He just does all the right things,” Harvey says. “He had a lot of hype, and he was a highly touted prospect and everything. You never know what to expect with those guys. He blew everything out of the water.”

Two days before what might be his last college game, Macklin Celebrini was asked to do one of the few things he doesn’t do well: sing.
I spent time w/ Celebrini, his family and @TerrierHockey for full picture. “He’s Jack Eichel, but plays all three zones.” https://t.co/8paKw5eaDu

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) April 15, 2024

Celebrini delivered on his promise in his one year at Boston University, leading them to the Frozen Four before losing to eventual champion Denver. He seriously considered staying another year, but being the expected No. 1 pick, Celebrini, his family and his coaches all knew he was ready.

“A lot has changed in a short period of time, but it’s been great,” Celebrini says, “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Celebrini and BU teammate Lane Hutson both came back to Boston for last year’s Beanpot tournament, celebrating on the ice with the team after its victory. They read the lineup card before the game and joined them on campus after.

“Like old times,” Harvey says.

Pandolfo says he still uses Celebrini clips in their video session. On offensive and defensive topics. “In every element,” Pandolfo says.

Pandolfo thinks Celebrini made the NHL transition look a lot easier than it is. While Celebrini was at Boston University, Pandolfo kept thinking he couldn’t believe he was that young — how he practiced, how he competed, how much he wanted to win.

“Every shift, every drill, he wouldn’t give up an inch,” Pandolfo says. “It didn’t matter if they were the captain of the team or the fifth-year guy.”

Pandolfo says Celebrini reminds him of two of his former teammates: Patrik Elias from when he was on the New Jersey Devils and Bergeron from when he was on the Bruins.

Why Elias? “Can do everything well and was more competitive than people realized.”

And Bergeron? “Definitely the gold standard. Mac has a lot of those qualities, not only as a player and a person but as a teammate. There are very few that have the qualities that Bergeron has and Mac does.”

As for Celebrini’s ceiling, Pandolfo says: “He’s going to be obviously a top center in the league, and I think he can be a top five player in the league.”

It didn’t matter that Celebrini became the face of the Sharks franchise or worked out with Crosby and Mackinnon.

He still did “The Hill.”

The Celebrini brothers’ summer workout in Vancouver included the grueling milestone three to four times per week. It’s about 10 minutes from their home, and it’s legendary for those who have tried it. Aiden says it’s around a mile incline and a “consistent burn and unrelenting over the rocks and stairs.”

For most athletes, Aiden says, it takes 40 to 45 minutes. Aiden and Macklin got it down to 35.

“It’s a mental struggle as much as a physical struggle,” says Aiden, a 2023 Vancouver Canucks draft pick.

Celebrini’s family says he hasn’t changed at all — not his routine, not his personality. When they picked him up from the airport after the World Championship, Aiden says his brother brought the “same excitement and energy that he had when he was a little s— back in the day.”

That meant waking their mother up at 4:30 a.m at age 13 to take them to the rink, like youngest brother R.J. does now. That meant their battles in hockey, chess, anything.

“He knew he couldn’t beat me up,” Aiden says, “so he’d always try to get me with some little chips and jabs, and as soon as I snapped, he would run away.”

“It’s not like nothing really changed except the venue or the media,” says Celebrini’s dad, Rick, the director of sports medicine and performance with the Golden State Warriors. “It’s a cliche, but it’s really true. He’s noticed a little more. He has more money in his bank account. He has a different audience to play in front of. But other than that, nothing has really changed. He’s still the same kid.”

A 10-day family vacation to Croatia, where Rick’s parents are from, helped ground Celebrini this summer. He initially was hesitant to go, taking so much time off from training, with the Sharks’ season coming and this being an Olympic year. But his dad and Aiden insisted he needed a break to recharge. And when else will the family of six get to do this?

They went to the beach and on boat rides. They visited the waterfront restaurant that Celebrini’s grandfather’s family owned on an island off the mainland. They went to the cemetery to see where some of their relatives were laid to rest. A few of Celebrini’s cousins play for the Croatian national soccer team, and he got to meet family he hadn’t seen before. They were aware that Celebrini was accomplished in sports, but not to the full extent.

For the brothers and their sister, Charlie, Aiden says, being there “really hit home.”

When it comes to being the next face of the NHL, both Celebrini’s father and brother can see it. Rick talks about his son’s improvement, his work ethic, how he carries himself and how he can “grow into that.”

Celebrini takes his peers’ vote as a huge compliment, but he tries not to think about it. He’s focused on his game, helping bring the Sharks out of their rebuild and making the Canadian Olympic team.

“It’s in the back of my mind, and it’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” he says. “That’s the highest level you can do it.”

Is Celebrini the type who’d want to be the face of the league? Aiden says his brother would, that it’s in his “DNA to be a leader and carry that burden.”

“He’s been this player long before he was in the spotlight,” Aiden says. “I remember he had these elite habits and tendencies at our (Shattuck-St Mary’s) days. It’s really cool to see him finally getting the recognition and appreciation. He’s like a shooting star right now. The sky is the limit.”