TORONTO — The greatest teenage hockey player on Earth mulls the idea.
“Have I surprised myself?”
Macklin Celebrini takes a pause, as if considering false humility or confident truth, when addressing his dominant sophomore campaign.
“I mean, I believe in myself. I believe in what I can do, and I believe in the work I put in. So, I can’t say I’m surprised or I feel any other way,” Celebrini replies.
Sitting casually in a hoodie and talking to a knot of strangers in the hockey mecca, the undoubted best player on the San Jose Sharks and the hope-to-be youngest player on Team Canada might just be the only one taking this in stride.
This burst up the Art Ross Trophy race, in which only a couple Hart Trophy champs and early Olympic picks, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, have amassed more than his 43 points.
This rush to relevance he’s leading by the Sharks, who have been wandering around the desert for six seasons in hopes of landing a talent of Celebrini’s calibre.
This deafening Olympic buzz that has some of the most respected voices in the sport convinced the kid born in Vancouver just four years before the Golden Goal should help bring the same shade of medal home from Milan.
“You kick yourself because he’s 19 years old and you can’t believe it,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky says. “Doesn’t bother him whatsoever. And he goes about his business, the way he prepares, it’s like he’s been in the league for 12 years.”
Celebrini won’t turn 20 until months after the Winter Games have closed ceremony, yet the kid is drawing comparisons to some of the most established centremen and leaders on the circuit.
“A little bit like J.T. Miller, in a sense, how heavy he plays,” says teammate Tyler Toffoli. “But he’s just a unique talent with the way he works, but also with how explosive he is. Some of the plays he makes are extremely impressive — and not very many guys in the league can do the things that he does.”
“He’s got a lot of Sid in him,” adds Warsofsky. “But I think he’s got some Nate MacKinnon in him — the competitiveness. He’s got a little bit of everyone, but at the end of the day, Mac is Mac. And we’re gonna let him be him.”
Celebrini thought a ton about the Italian job over the summer. He got a taste of the Maple Leaf competing for a world championship in May, sharing a dressing room and picking the brains of MacKinnon and Crosby.
“That was awesome,” Celebrini says Wednesday, sitting in his stall after a team practice in Toronto. “They were so great to me. Just being around them, seeing two legends, two Hall of Famers and see how they carry themselves, approach every day, and two guys I looked up to growing up, that was pretty cool.”
The first couple times meeting Crosby, Celebrini admits to being nervous: “I mean, he’s my role model.”
“When you go and play with the best players in the world and you learn from them, sometimes it’s not just hockey-skill-related,” Warsofsky notes.
“It’s, how do you go about being a leader? I’m sure he learned a lot from Sid in that regard. I’m sure he’s learned from MacKinnon on certain aspects. And that’s what makes great players great — in any sport.”
A group of next-wave NHL stars, including Celebrini, Sharks teammate Will Smith, and Adam Fantilli, flew to Nova Scotia over the summer for some intense training skates with Crosby and MacKinnon.
These experiences poured gas on Celebrini’s Olympic torch.
“It’s a dream of every kid who grows up in Canada,” he says.
Take it from the captain: the kid has the tools.
“His hunger, his passion for the game, how hard he works. I thought even last season, as the season went on, he got better and better, which is pretty normal for a rookie and young player to gain confidence,” Crosby says.
“But I felt like the worlds even was another step. And he started off the season pretty incredible, and he’s just continuing to build his game. Just dynamic. He’s a great skater. He sees the ice well. He’s got a big shot.”
Still, for every high-producing forward GM Doug Armstrong adds to the national roster, a 4 Nations winner must be removed.
Celebrini and fellow first–overall draft pick Connor Bedard have entered the chat.
“It’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?” says Team Canada coach Jon Cooper. “I mean, good for them.
“And it’s just amazing that players that young can come in and have such a positive impact in the game. I guess when they say it’s a young man’s game, it really is. These are extreme talents.”
Team USA captain Auston Matthews, who will face off with Celebrini Thursday, raves about his blend of skill and competitiveness.
“He battles hard. It’s not just all flash,” Matthews says. “He’s obviously on a tear. He’s a fun player to watch, and he’s gonna be a great player in this league for a long time.”
The future is now.
Celebrini is a plus-7 threat playing 20-plus minutes nightly against hard matchups, thriving on team with a minus-16 goal differential. He’s already potted three game-winners.
Calm, confident and clutch.
Hockey Canada’s decision-makers are meeting this week in Florida. No doubt, Celebrini’s candidacy is a hot topic. Europe-bound charters take off in less than two months.
Warsofsky has spoken with both Canada’s national coaching staff and Team USA head coach (and Crosby’s longtime bench boss) Mike Sullivan about how to guide such a gift.
Since worlds, Warsofsky has noticed an improvement in Celebrini’s game without the puck — which should be the difference in making the cut.
“Now, the way he defends, he’s arguably one of our most physical forwards down low in the defensive zone and killing plays and closing. So, I think that’s been a big growth for him,” Warsofsky says.
“Going to World Championships, playing with those guys, (you learn) sometimes it’s OK not to touch the puck or have an impact every shift. And he’s starting to realize that.”
There’s some nature to the nurture, though.
Celebrini’s father, Rick, is a renowned sports physiotherapist, a former national-team soccer player who now serves as the director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors.
The player wants to be coached hard, craves information on his own game and his opponents’. Yet, Toffoli says, he isn’t so obsessed that he forgets to have fun along the ride.
Warsofsky credits Celebrini’s parents for raising an “extremely self-driven” and “coachable” son. Accessible Sharks legends like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, Celebrini’s billet dad, have added the seasoning.
“He wants to win. He wants his teams to win. He doesn’t really live off his stats. He’s not looking to go get his two points. He’d rather us win a hockey game,” Warsofsky says.
“When you have someone like that, that’s when we know we’re moving in the right direction.”
Ryan Reaves, 38, has played 937 NHL games for seven teams. He’s shared rooms with too many Cup champs and all-stars to count.
“I’ve played with some good players, but I don’t think I’ve ever played with a player this young that’s been this good, light it up like he does,” Reaves raves.
“The biggest thing is, he plays in all three zones. He doesn’t cheat. I think sometimes, especially this new generation, you see them turn over the puck, and they swing and they kind of wait behind the defence for a breakaway pass. And that’s not really his game. He’s slamming on the brakes. He’s getting back. He’s backchecking. He’s getting ready in the corners. It’s kinda of a complete package for such a young kid.”
Celebrini isn’t your typical teen.
He stays off social media to zero in on the here and now. While his summer daydreams drifted to Milan, he thinks of his career in blocks and is focusing solely on San Jose’s current road trip.
“There’s not too much to it,” Celebrini says of eschewing Instagram and Twitter. “It’s just more of a focus thing, and just trying not to kind of let whatever’s said on the Internet affect anything.”
Toffoli hasn’t noticed the Olympic pressure go to his teammate’s head. Same Celebrini, through hype or adversity.
“Even last year, there was a little stretch, he wasn’t getting the bounces or scoring for a few games,” Toffoli says. “I don’t think confidence was ever an issue. If anything, it made him work even harder and get even better.”
Team Canada better?
“It’s been something that I’ve been working towards, and it’s been a goal of mine. That thought obviously lingers around you,” Celebrini says. “But there’s so much we need to focus on, that if you just keep thinking about it, it’s gonna be a little bit overwhelming.”
That’s OK. Celebrini can let everyone else think about it.
If you were Canada’s GM, would you send Celebrini to the Olympics?
“Hundred per cent,” Reaves smiles. “Hundred per cent.”
