Following the hype of Connor Bedard during the 2023 NHL draft, all eyes were on Bedard and what he could do in the professional league. Everyone, hockey fans and non-viewers alike, knew his name and exactly how promising of a player he was at only 18. With all of the media around the NHL focusing on Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, it was easy to miss the next up-and-comer.
Macklin Celebrini entered the conversation quietly, coming into NCAA hockey at only 17 years old and taking the season by storm. He left his rookie Hockey East season with both the Rookie of the Year award and the Hobey Baker, making him one of only four players to ever achieve this feat in one season. For general managers and die-hard hockey followers, the projected first overall prospect was clear in Celebrini, but unlike the Bedard year, nobody else really knew who he was.
After going first overall in 2024 to the San Jose Sharks, Celebrini went straight into his rookie year during the 2024-25 season. His first in the NHL wasn’t a glimpse at how good he could be; it was an explosion into success. During his rookie season, he put up 63 points (25 goals and 38 assists), compared to Bedard’s rookie stat of 61 points (22 goals and 39 assists). Thus far in the 2025-26, Celebrini has already put up 81 points (28 goals and 53 assists), leading his team in scoring. His 2nd place trailer, Will Smith, has only 39 points.
He scored his first NHL goal only seven minutes into his first NHL game against the St. Louis Blues, and he had an assist, earning two points in his career opener. In his rookie season, Celebrini had 16 multi-point games, including a 5-point game against Minnesota. His second season has been even better and it isn’t even over. He leads his team in total points scored, goals, assists, and he has the best +/- rating of 10 on a team with a -21 rating.
This season, he was the third teenager in NHL history to reach 50-points in 34 or less games, joining only legends Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky, leaving Celebrini in exceptional company. He even went as far as to surpass Gretzky, the greatest Canadian-born hockey player of all time, for points scored by a teenager before Christmas (53 points in 35 games). Celebrini recorded a 13-game point streak, tied for the second-longest point streak in franchise history and tied for the third-longest streak by a teenager in NHL history with Joe Sakic, Jimmy Carson, and, once again, Gretzky.
Until Jan. 19, the Sharks were 0-6-2 when Celebrini didn’t score. Now, they’re 1-8-2 when Celebrini isn’t on the score sheet and 24-12-1 when he does record a point. Celebrini also factors in over half of all San Jose Sharks goals this season. It is no secret that the young buck has been carrying this team. The story is eerily similar to Sidney Crosby’s, who Celebrini is often compared to. Crosby went to a near bankrupt franchise with a losing streak and he saved the organization, taking the Pens to three Stanley Cups. Celebrini goes to a franchise that finished dead last the season before his selection and now they’re within reach of a playoff spot in only his second season with the team.
The Crosby comparisons don’t stop there. On Dec. 31, just before a victory over the Minnesota Wild and after a 5-4 win over Anaheim, it was announced that at only 19-years-old, Celebrini would go to Milan to represent Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Celebrini became the youngest player to play for Team Canada in Olympics involving NHL players.
Celebrini went on to score the opening goal in Canada’s first game in the tournament, finishing second in the scoring race at the Olympics with 10 points in six games, behind only his linemate, Connor McDavid. Celebrini also became the first NHL player in Olympic history to score a penalty shot in an Olympic game. He finished first in goals with 5 scored, and he held this position for the entire tournament. At only 19-years-old, he was named to the Olympic All-Star Team alongside McDavid, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Connor Hellebuyck, and Juraj Slafkovsky. Celebrini also had a game-high time-on-ice of 25 minutes and 53 seconds as a forward, which is almost unheard of. Although he and Team Canada lost the gold medal, there is no doubt that Celebrini outplayed Team USA.
It is obvious based on his statistics that Celebrini isn’t just a rising star, but that he is an elite player. However, you don’t even have to read the numbers to know just how elite Celebrini really is. If you watch him on the ice, you can see his impressively high hockey IQ. He has this ability to draw attention to himself on entries, play the puck deep, and then disappear from the play, only to reappear when his shot is already in the back of the net. His head-fakes and ability to escape some of the best defensemen in the world are unmatched when paired.
Celebrini isn’t confined to his position as a forward either: Celebrini is an all-around talent. His 200-foot game is so impressive to watch and it’s one of his greatest strengths. He wins puck battles along the boards, and uses his size to protect the puck or force turnovers. He is one of the best defensive forwards the game has right now, and, man, is it something to see. When he is on the rush, his stick handling ability is akin to McDavid, and his shot has some speed, with an average of around 63 miles per hour, in the 95th percentile of the league. Celebrini once recorded a 98+ mile an hour slap-shot that was surprisingly blocked by a Washington Capital.
With the San Jose Sharks currently sitting in 6th in the Pacific Division, is it possible that Celebrini can carry them back to a playoff spot? With the past few weeks he has had at the Olympics, and his career stats, I don’t doubt that it’s a possibility, even if it’s slight. Celebrini is one of those players that you only get once a generation, and he proves that more and more every day. With 27 games left in the regular season for San Jose, can Celebrini save their chance at the Stanley Cup 10 years after they lost in the final to, none other than, Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins? Poetic justice, that would be.
