Macklin Celebrini Is Turning the Sharks Into a One-Man Playoff Machine
If hockey is the ultimate team sport, Macklin Celebrini is making a strong case that sometimes, one transcendent talent can bend that rule. What the 18-year-old rookie is doing for the San Jose Sharks isn’t just impressive - it’s bordering on historic. In a season where the Sharks were expected to be little more than a rebuilding afterthought, Celebrini has dragged them into playoff contention almost entirely on his own.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a good rookie campaign. This is a full-blown MVP-caliber season - and not just in theory. Celebrini is doing more with less than anyone else in the league right now, and the numbers back that up in a big way.
Through 48 games, Celebrini has racked up 72 points. That’s not just leading the Sharks - it’s lapping them.
The next closest scorer on the team, Alex Wennberg, sits at 33 points. That’s less than half of Celebrini’s total.
To put that in perspective, no other team in the league has a second-leading scorer contributing less than 70% of their top guy’s output - except for Pittsburgh. And even they are closer together than San Jose’s duo.
But it gets even more eye-popping when you zoom out. Celebrini has been directly involved in nearly half - 49.3% - of the Sharks’ total goals this season.
Only Connor McDavid has a higher share for his team, and even then, Celebrini edges McDavid when you strip it down to primary points (goals and first assists). Celebrini’s primary point percentage clocks in at 39.7%, ahead of McDavid’s 36.5%.
In fact, only three players in the modern analytics era have ever posted a higher rate: McDavid (twice) and Alex Ovechkin.
That level of production isn’t just impressive - it’s rarefied air.
And it’s not just the scoring. Celebrini’s impact shows up all over the ice.
At five-on-five, the Sharks are outscoring opponents 47-33 when he’s on the ice. Without him?
They’re getting hammered 78-45. That’s not just a drop-off - it’s a cliff.
For context, the worst five-on-five goal differential by any individual player this season is minus-33. San Jose, without Celebrini, is sitting right in that territory.
And for those who prefer expected goals (xG) to the raw scoreboard, Celebrini’s been a force there too. After a slower start, he’s surged to a 55% xG rate over his last 20 games - on a team that drops all the way to 42% when he’s not out there. That’s a massive swing in puck possession and scoring chance generation, all tied to one player.
In terms of advanced metrics, Celebrini entered Monday’s game against Florida with a Net Rating of +13.5 - the fifth-best mark in the NHL. The next-best Shark?
Tyler Toffoli at +3.3, which ranks all the way down at 163rd league-wide. That’s a 10.2-goal gap, the largest between a team’s top two players this season.
For comparison, McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon have similar leads over their running mates - but their “sidekicks” are Leon Draisaitl and Cale Makar. Celebrini’s working with a much thinner supporting cast.
That 10.2-goal margin isn’t just impressive - it’s historic. Since 2007-08, there have only been 20 seasons where a team’s top player was worth 10 more goals than their next best.
The highest on record? Ovechkin’s 15.4-goal lead over Mike Green in 2007-08.
Celebrini is currently on pace to challenge, or even surpass, that.
And when you look at the names who’ve done this before - Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Iginla, Thornton, McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews, Draisaitl, Kucherov - you start to realize the company Celebrini is keeping. These are franchise pillars.
MVPs. Hall of Famers.
Celebrini, still in his teens, is putting himself in that conversation.
Crosby, in particular, is a frequent comparison for Celebrini - and while Sid’s numbers don’t always pop in this particular stat due to injury-shortened seasons, his 2010-11 campaign was on pace to beat his next-best teammate by a staggering 17.1 goals. Celebrini’s season is tracking in that same stratosphere.
Now, here’s the thing: even the greats needed help. Crosby had Malkin.
McDavid has Draisaitl. MacKinnon has Makar.
Eventually, for San Jose to take the next step - from surprise playoff team to legitimate contender - Celebrini’s going to need a co-star. Someone who can help shoulder the load and push the ceiling even higher.
But that’s a conversation for the future. Right now, what Celebrini is doing is nothing short of remarkable.
He’s pushing the limits of how much one player can influence a team in a sport that’s notoriously resistant to individual dominance. He’s dragging the Sharks into the playoff race with sheer will, skill, and consistency.
Wherever San Jose ends up this season, it’ll be because of Macklin Celebrini. He’s not just having a great rookie year - he’s delivering a singular performance that’s reshaping what we thought was possible from a teenager in the NHL.
No Malkin. No Draisaitl. No problem.