Macklin Celebrini Is Tuning Out the Noise-and Tuning Up His Game
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The spotlight’s getting brighter, but Macklin Celebrini isn’t blinking.
At just 19 years old, the San Jose Sharks’ top pick from the 2024 NHL Draft is not only living up to the hype-he’s redefining what we expect from a teenager in the league. After a rookie season that had him in the Calder Trophy conversation, Celebrini has taken things up a notch. Now, he’s playing himself into Hart Trophy territory and earning a spot on Team Canada for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.
That’s not just impressive-it’s rarefied air.
But what’s just as striking as his on-ice dominance is how calmly he’s handling the growing frenzy around him. The media attention, the Olympic selection, the pressure of being the face of a rebuilding franchise-it’s a lot. Yet Celebrini’s game hasn’t wavered.
“He’s done a really good job of not letting all the outside noise affect his game,” Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. And that’s not just coach-speak. You can see it in the way Celebrini plays-poised, focused, and mature beyond his years.
His teammates see it, too.
“Media and outside noise, you’ve just got to do your best,” said forward Will Smith, another young building block in San Jose’s system. “He obviously does a great job with it.”
So how does a teenager manage to stay locked in while the hockey world spins around him?
Celebrini addressed that himself last month during a media scrum in Toronto. Surrounded by cameras and questions in one of hockey’s most intense markets, he showed the same composure he brings to the ice. And his teammates say that’s just who he is.
“He flushes it,” said Ty Dellandrea, the 25-year-old forward who’s become one of Celebrini’s closer confidants in the locker room. “Way better than most young guys, and I did.”
That ability to reset-game to game, shift to shift-is a trait you usually find in seasoned veterans. For Celebrini, it’s already part of his DNA. And it’s one of the reasons he’s not just surviving the NHL grind-he’s thriving in it.
Vincent Iorio, another teammate, echoed the sentiment. Around the Sharks, there’s a growing belief that this isn’t just a hot start or a lucky stretch. This is who Macklin Celebrini is-and who he’s going to be for a long time.
For San Jose, that’s great news. The franchise is in the midst of a rebuild, and while the road back to contention is never easy, having a player like Celebrini at the center of it all changes the equation. He’s not just a foundational piece-he’s the kind of talent who can accelerate timelines and shift expectations.
And as the Olympic stage looms and the NHL season rolls on, the noise around Macklin Celebrini will only grow louder.
But if his game so far is any indication, he’ll keep doing what he does best-tuning it out and letting his play do the talking.