Macklin Celebrini put the whole world on notice during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Returning from his tour in Milan—in which he put on a show for the ages—the 19-year-old voiced a blunt statement for Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and the rest of Team Canada to listen to.
Because of his age, there are countless things Celebrini is not yet allowed to do. However, becoming a national icon in Canada is not one of them. Joining a roster featuring the likes of Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, and many more, Celebrini stole the spotlight.
Still, the fact him and Canada only—which for the Great White North is little consolation—have just a silver medal to show for does not sit right. As the 2025–26 NHL season resumes, the face of the San Jose Sharks franchise wasted no time sending a bold message.
“We didn’t win, so it’s bitter,” Celebrini admitted, according to NHL.com. “It’s sour that we didn’t win and we came that close, especially everything that we fought through. But I mean, [we] can’t change it now.”
Celebrini and Sharks push for a playoff spot
While the loss with Canada in the gold medal game remains an open wound for Celebrini, he will have opportunities to find closure. Namely in the 2030 Winter Olympics. Still that is a long way down the road. In the more immediate future, Celebrini vies to further establish his place among the new faces of the NHL.
On that note, nothing may be better than for the 2024-25 Calder Memorial Trophy nominee (the NHL’s Rookie of the Year) to lead the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. San Jose has proven to be well ahead of schedule in its rebuild. A postseason berth in Celebrini’s sophomore season would only confirm that the rest of the league is now swimming in shark-infested waters.
Coming off the break, the Sharks sit five points behind the second wild-card team, the Seattle Kraken (63 points), with two games in hand. Becoming a playoff team just one year after finishing dead last in the league may not have happened in Celebrini’s wildest dreams, but it is now quite plausible.
Celebrini and San Jose’s future looks bright
San Jose is currently mired in a six-year playoff drought, and many fans were ready to throw in the towel. However, since Celebrini was drafted first overall in 2024, the fan base in the Capital of Silicon Valley has seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and the future looks bright.
The Sharks now boast one of the most appealing outlooks in the league, and Celebrini’s showcase alongside McDavid and Crosby in Milan only helped fuel growing NHL interest in the city. It may not take long before top free agents begin to view San Jose as a preferred destination—largely thanks to the new teenage sensation in town, Macklin Celebrini.
SURVEY Who is better?
Who is better?
already voted 5 fans