What Macklin Celebrini is doing in just his second NHL season isn’t just impressive - it’s bordering on historic.
After lighting up the league with 63 points in 70 games as an 18-year-old rookie, the North Vancouver native has taken things to another level in Year 2. Through 50 games, Celebrini’s racked up 26 goals and 48 assists - that’s 74 points and counting - putting him on pace for a jaw-dropping 122-point season.
For a 19-year-old center? That’s not just rare - it’s almost unheard of.
But here’s the kicker: as good as the numbers are - and they’re elite - it might be Celebrini’s two-way game that’s turning the most heads. His hockey IQ is off the charts.
He reads plays like a seasoned vet, anticipates where the puck’s going before it gets there, and when the puck does turn over, he’s already in motion, flipping the ice and pushing play the other way. The offense is electric, but the defense?
That’s what separates him from your typical high-scoring youngster.
And it’s not like he’s just padding stats on a loaded roster. Celebrini leads the San Jose Sharks by a staggering 40 points - the next closest scorers, Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg, are well behind. That kind of gap tells you everything you need to know about how central he’s been to San Jose’s success.
The Sharks, for their part, are right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Heading into Tuesday night’s matchup at Rogers Arena, they’re locked in a three-way tie for the second Wild Card spot, with the Seattle Kraken and Los Angeles Kings breathing down their necks.
And let’s be clear: San Jose is in this fight because of Celebrini. Full stop.
“He is very close to being a superstar in this league,” Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said back in December. “He plays with winning habits.
He plays a 200-foot game. He’s physical - which is unheard of for a 19-year-old center - and he’s scoring and creating at a high rate.”
Warsofsky didn’t stop there. He pointed to Celebrini’s work ethic - first in the gym, dialed in on nutrition, leading by example whether it’s practice, an optional skate, or a game night.
“That’s when you really start growing your organization,” Warsofsky said. “You look at the great athletes - they carry themselves with leadership capabilities on and off the ice.
He’s well on his way to that.”
As the Sharks visit Vancouver, Celebrini returns to his hometown - not just as a local kid making good, but as one of the NHL’s emerging elite. And next month, he’ll pull on the maple leaf to represent Team Canada at the Olympics. At 19, that’s not just a big stage - it’s a spotlight few his age have earned.
Of course, it wasn’t long ago that Celebrini was in the stands at Rogers Arena, chanting “Go Canucks Go” during Vancouver’s 2023-24 playoff run - just weeks before the Sharks would call his name at the NHL Draft. That moment went viral, and it even came up at the draft combine.
“I took my opportunity during that game to get one last Canucks chant going… I heard about it at the combine, yeah,” Celebrini said with a grin.
Even before that, at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship in Switzerland, a then-16-year-old Celebrini was asked about his hometown team’s direction. His answer? Honest and unfiltered.
“Oh yeah, I’m a big Canucks fan… Well, I think they should be in a rebuild phase. I love the team.”
That quote came during another late-season push by the Canucks, this time sparked by Rick Tocchet taking over behind the bench from Bruce Boudreau. Vancouver’s surge down the stretch hurt their draft odds - and their chances of landing a hometown star like Connor Bedard.
Now, two years later, the rebuild Celebrini once called for is finally in full swing. The Canucks sit at the bottom of the NHL standings, while the Sharks - still cautious not to rush their own rebuild - are riding Celebrini’s breakout season into playoff contention. They even added Kiefer Sherwood earlier this month, a depth move that could pay dividends down the stretch.
Sherwood won’t suit up against Vancouver, but once he’s back, there’s a real chance he finds himself riding shotgun on San Jose’s top line - right next to Celebrini.
And who knows - in a different world, maybe that top line would’ve been wearing Canucks blue and green instead.