Macklin Richard Celebrini (born June 13, 2006) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a centre and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected first overall by the Sharks in the 2024 NHL entry draft, Celebrini made his NHL debut in the 2024âÂÂ25 NHL season and was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy.
Playing college ice hockey for the Boston University Terriers, Celebrini won the Hobey Baker Award during his freshman season, becoming the youngest player to do so.
Internationally, Celebrini has represented Canada multiple times, including the 2024 World Junior Championships, the 2025 IIHF World Championship, as well as the 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the youngest NHL player to play for Canada at the Olympics.
Macklin Richard Celebrini was born on June 13, 2006, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Robyn and Rick Celebrini. Rick was a soccer player for the Vancouver 86ers and a former physiotherapist for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, he was later hired by the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as their director of sports medicine and performance. Celebrini grew up a fan of the Vancouver Canucks, his hometown team.
Celebrini is the second of four children: He has an older brother, Aiden, who was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL entry draft. The two brothers played together for the 2023âÂÂ24 college season. He also has two younger siblings: a brother, RJ, and a sister, Charlie.
Celebrini is of Croatian descent through his paternal grandfather, Anton Celebrini, who was born in Porat, a village on the island of Krk.
Celebrini currently lives with former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton.
Celebrini played minor hockey in Vancouver with the North Shore Winter Club before the family moved to San Jose, where he would spend the 2019âÂÂ20 season with the San Jose Jr Sharks program. Following a season with the Shattuck-Saint Mary's School, where he would score 50 goals and 67 assists in 52 games, he signed with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the 2022âÂÂ23 USHL season, where he would score 86 points, leading the USHL and breaking the record for most points ever by an under-17 player in USHL history. After helping the Steel reach the USHL's Eastern Conference Finals, Celebrini was named Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Forward of the Year, becoming the second USHL player to win all three awards, and the first to do so in a single season. Celebrini was also named to the All-USHL and All-Rookie first teams.
Celebrini committed to play for Boston University starting in the 2023âÂÂ24 season, playing alongside his older brother Aiden. During his freshman year he recorded 32 goals and 64 points in just 38 games, winning Hockey East Player of the Year, Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Hockey East Scoring Champion, and the Hockey East Three-Stars Award. Celebrini would also win the Hobey Baker Award, becoming the youngest player to win the award and the fourth freshman to do so, following Paul Kariya in 1993, Jack Eichel in 2015 and Adam Fantilli in 2023.
Celebrini was drafted first overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Sharks on July 6. He made his NHL debut on October 10, scoring his first goal and assist in a 5âÂÂ4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. Celebrini led all NHL forwards in puck battle wins per game in the first half of the 2024âÂÂ25 season.
On April 9, 2025, in a game against the Minnesota Wild, Celebrini scored his first NHL hat-trick, becoming the first rookie to do so in the 2024âÂÂ25 season. Playing in 70 games, Celebrini finished the season with 25 goals, second most among rookies behind Matvei Michkov, and 63 points, tying with for second place with Michkov, behind Lane Hutson. Celebrini was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to NHL's best rookie, and was named to the league's All-Rookie Team.
Celebrini temporarily became the NHL's leading scorer during the start of the 2025âÂÂ26 season, scoring 23 points in the first 15 games, the third player to reach this achievement after Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman. Celebrini got a hat-trick and two assists in a five-point night against the New York Rangers, and a hat-trick against the Utah Mammoth in a 3âÂÂ2 win less than a month later. He became the sixth teenager in NHL history, after Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk, Mario Lemieux, Jimmy Carson, and Sidney Crosby, to record 100 points in a season after he scored a goal against the St. Louis Blues on March 30.
Celebrini made his international debut for Canada with the under-17 team in the 2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. The following year, he was named to the under-18 team for the 2023 World U18 Championships, where he would score the bronze medal-winning goal against Slovakia in overtime. Celebrini later played with the junior team at the 2024 World Junior Championships, leading the team in scoring with four goals and four assists.
Following the conclusion of his debut collegiate season, Celebrini accepted an invitation to make his senior team debut at the 2024 World Championship, but was dropped from the roster following the addition of NHL players whose teams were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. He would make his debut the following year at the 2025 World Championship, recording three goals and three assists for a total of six points in eight games for Canada.
Celebrini was invited to Hockey Canada's 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp in anticipation of the 2026 Winter Olympics as the youngest player to be considered for the senior team at the time. On December 31, 2025, Celebrini was named to Canada's roster for the Winter Olympics, making him the youngest-ever NHL player on the Canadian men's Olympic team. In Milan, he opened the scoring for Canada in a 5âÂÂ0 win over the Czech Republic, surpassing Jonathan Toews to become the youngest Canadian NHL player to score an Olympic goal. Celebrini assumed a key role for Canada in the tournament, playing on the team's top line alongside Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. He had the most ice-time of any Canadian player in its 3âÂÂ2 comeback victory over Finland in the semifinal round. Canada was ultimately defeated by the United States in the final, receiving the silver medal. Celebrini was named to the Olympic All-Star Team.