Celebrini is taking over the NHL at 19. Are the Olympics next?

Veteran forward Tyler Toffoli took a seat in the visitor's dressing room at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena last week and immediately began fielding post-practice questions about 19-year-old Sharks teammate Macklin Celebrini.

"He's playing really well. He's just a really shitty guy," Toffoli deadpanned.

Laughter ensued as Celebrini stared at Toffoli from a neighboring stall. With a hooded Sharks sweater covering his hair and ears but his smiling face exposed, Celebrini looked like a giddy child trying to annoy an older sibling.

"He's hard to be around," Toffoli, 33, quipped, "so you hope he just keeps scoring."

The playful interaction serves as a reminder of the magic unfolding before our eyes this NHL season. Celebrini is a sophomore with 104 games of experience who's also the third-youngest everyday player in a 32-team league. He doesn't turn 20 until June, which means he legally can't drink alcohol in the United States until after his third regular season.

Yet Celebrini is bordering on unstoppable. His 51 total points and 40 primary points both rank third behind Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. He's recorded three or more points in a single game nine times in two-plus months. The Flames were his latest victims: He scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner, and added two primary assists in a 6-3 Sharks home win Tuesday night.

"Every time you think he's going to maybe slow down and maybe hit a speed bump, he doesn't. He just keeps going," head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters afterward.

The buzz around Celebrini probably won't quiet down anytime soon either. His polished game is a sight to behold, he has a legitimate shot at representing Canada at the Olympics, and he's a Hart Trophy contender.

Sidney Crosby 2.0

Celebrini entered 2025-26 on the trajectory of a franchise cornerstone.

The 2024 No. 1 pick gained universal respect (and a Calder Trophy finalist nod) for combining a comprehensive two-way game with 63 rookie points. People whispered about his stylistic similarities to Sidney Crosby.

Celebrini is outgrowing the "franchise cornerstone" tag and rocketing into "megastar" territory just 34 games into Year 2. Put another way, he's gone from being described to theScore as "probably a top 10 NHL forward" by an opposing head coach in late October to a being called a "top 10 player regardless of position" by a rival front-office member in mid-December. And the Crosby comparison? Everybody is comfortable talking about it publicly.

"I see the Sid similarities, for sure," Sharks forward Adam Gaudette said. "As Mack gets bigger and stronger, he'll fit that description even more. He's still a kid. Once he matures, man, it's going to be scary."

"Mack," Gaudette added, "can be the best player in the world at some point."

Celebrini is the kind of made-in-a-lab center with no glaring weaknesses. He possesses elite hockey sense, he skates extremely well, and he's an equally gifted passer and shooter. He transports the puck effectively, takes pride in his defensive duties, and brings a mix of swagger and doggedness to every shift.

Most of those superstar-making traits were present last season. So, beyond learning from a season's worth of games and having a productive offseason, what has allowed Celebrini to level up so significantly? For starters, he's leveraging his world-class shot by being more direct and decisive.

"He's got such a good, heavy shot, whether it's his one-timer or his wrist shot. Everything has power," Sharks assistant coach Jeff Ulmer told theScore.

"He's learned this year to not be so fine with it. Last year, he was really trying to pick these little spots to shoot from, whereas this year, for the most part, he's been firing pucks towards and on the net, and you can see the (benefit to this approach) in his numbers. Some of his assists are from a hell of a shot, where the goalie is suddenly out of position. We make a play and score."

Celebrini, who's attempting a high number of mid-range shots as a sophomore, is on pace for 43 goals after scoring at a 21-goal pace last year.

It's no accident that his shot lands in the 93rd percentile in average speed, according to NHL Edge. He's a compact and powerful 6-feet, 190 pounds.

"He's able to generate so much transfer speed on his shot that it goes right through goalies," Ulmer said. "And he works on it: To his credit, he's out there, the first one on the ice during practice days. We're feeding him pucks. He wants more and more and more. Sometimes you have to kick him off the ice."

Celebrini is super assertive - rarely out of position yet seemingly always near the puck thanks to a nonstop motor and quick reads. He chases down loose pucks without hesitation, supports teammates on defense, and often gains the inside track on opponents in physical battles.

"Mack competes. He's physical. He's not afraid to get into battles, get his nose dirty. His (defensive) tracking is really good," Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. "We want him to make plays. So, when the puck is turned over, which is going to happen sometimes, he's the first one back. That's a big quality to have in your game, especially if you're a high-end skilled guy."

Added Ulmer: "He knows how to use his body. He can go into a battle against a 30-year-old power forward and come out with the puck 75% of the time."

Another area of progress year over year, according to Ulmer: Celebrini's cut down on low-percentage plays in the neutral zone.

"He's a driven kid," the coach said of Celebrini's Crosby-like itch to improve at all times. "Anything he can do to be a little bit better the next day, he'll do it. People will say that about most superstars, but that is how Mack is wired."

Team Canada and MVP

Born in 2006, Celebrini is still eligible to play for Canada at the upcoming world juniors. He's so young that he doesn't have core memories from the last two times NHLers went to the Olympics - when Canada won gold in 2010 and 2014.

Still, Celebrini, who put up six points in eight World Championship games in May, has said in interviews that making the 2026 Olympic team is a motivating goal and would be a "huge honor" for a kid from North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Forwards Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart and defenseman Cale Makar were named to Canada's 25-man roster in June. The final 19 selections, including nine forwards, will be announced Dec. 31.

Celebrini should be a lock. He's proven himself to be one of the top 14 forwards on the planet, never mind just from Canada. His polished, team-first game would allow the coaching staff to play him with anyone on any line (how about Nick Suzuki between Celebrini and Mitch Marner?). Canada's stacked at center, so the Sharks alternate captain is likely being considered for left wing.

Age and relative inexperience are the only knocks on Celebrini. He doesn't play like a typical sophomore, however, so those theoretical disadvantages don't hold weight. Canada's decision-makers should view Celebrini's meteoric rise as an excuse to inject youthful energy into a veteran-heavy dressing room.

MacKinnon is the Hart Trophy favorite as 2025-26 nears its halfway point. But Celebrini, unquestionably the Sharks' MVP, is firmly in the conversation.

He leads San Jose with a plus-12 five-on-five goal differential, and he's recorded a point on 50% of the Sharks' 102 total goals (18 goals, 33 assists).
For context, MacKinnon and McDavid - another strong Hart contender - have earned a point on 42% and 48% of their teams' total goals, respectively.

On Tuesday, Celebrini became the fastest Shark and third-fastest teenager in league history to hit 50 points. The other teens: Wayne Gretzky and Crosby.

Team success matters to Hart voters, and the 17-14-3 Sharks currently occupy a playoff spot. If they can hold onto it, the end-of-season MacKinnon-Celebrini debate will be fierce. Remember, the Avalanche also employ Makar.

Celebrini will be one of the global faces of hockey in large part because he'll probably contend for the Art Ross Trophy every season for a decade. But it's his shift-to-shift impact, the three-zone brilliance, that makes him special. Check out the metrics in which Celebrini ranks top 20 among NHL forwards:

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).