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As Canada’s men’s Olympic hockey team progresses to the quarter finals, all eyes are on North Vancouver’s Macklin Celebrini, the 19-year-old who’s already scored four goals and had two assists at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games.
He set a record as the youngest player to make the Olympic team, where NHL players are permitted.
According to NHL.com, he’s the youngest player on the ice in Milano-Cortina, period.
Not to mention his NHL success this year — the San Jose Shark ranks fourth in the entire league for points right now.
Even with these impressive stats under his belt — again, at just 19 — his former B.C. hockey coach said that when he thinks of Celebrini, what comes mind most is his smile.
“I’m sure underneath that there’s nerves, but he’s always smiling, he’s enjoying the moment, he’s a happy kid. He’s always been a happy kid,” said Jon Calvano, who coached Celebrini when he played with the Vancouver Vipers.
“It’s just been very good to see that he’s not looking uptight and I believe that’s allowing him to play the way he’s playing.”
Macklin Celebrini is pictured in 2024, while playing for Boston University. (Ian Maule/NHLI via Getty Images)
Calvano spoke with CBC’s Stephen Quinn on The Early Edition ahead of Team Canada’s Wednesday game.
LISTEN | North Vancouver’s Macklin Celebrini takes centre stage in Milan:
The Early Edition7:36North Vancouver’s Macklin Celebrini is centre stage at the Olympics
Macklin Celebrini is playing a prominent role in the men’s hockey tournament at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games, having scored four goals so far. Stephen Quinn speaks with Jon Calvano, one of Macklin’s former coaches when he was playing junior hockey in the Lower Mainland.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s it like for you to be watching the kid you used to coach play on a world stage like the Olympics — especially on that line?
I think like every other Canadian just enjoying the Olympics, best on best finally again and obviously seeing the future of Canada representing well. The future is bright for us as young players like Macklin get the torch passed from the veterans.
Four goals and two assists in the first three games. I mean, that’s outstanding.
It’s remarkable and but not surprising for a player like Macklin who’s worked really hard and he’s been committed to his process to get to this point for many years. The success is great. And obviously it’s helping Canada on their way to hopefully a gold medal.
What was he like as a young hockey player? I mean, did you see this coming? Did you see this in him?
You can never predict. If I was able to predict 19-year-olds playing in the Olympics, I’d be an agent.
I think you look at the work habits and just how competitive he was from a young kid. The tournaments we used to go to, since those kids were nine years old, they never lost a tournament. And, you know, Macklin was always at the forefront.
How much of it do you think is about being a super-skilled, gifted hockey player and how much of it is hard work?
I don’t know if he was super skilled, but I would definitely say he was skilled and with a super hard work ethic, you get the kid you get today. And I think that’s the misconception of, you know, just work on skill, skill, skill. But the work ethic and the drive which Macklin’s always had, it’s a very rare trait to find in the young hockey players.
What’s it like for him to be playing on the first line with two MVPs like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon?
I think watching Connor as a fan, his play could be unpredictable at times and hard to read off of what he’s going to do because he’s so fast and so skilled and probably sees the game at a way different level than everybody else.
Celebrini scores his team’s fifth goal on a penalty shot against France’s Julian Junca on Sunday. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s been really impressive to see how Mac has worked on supporting Connor and being in areas where he can be a relief for Connor when he runs out of room or decides he’s got to pass the puck off. And Mac is so, so smart that he knows how to buy time and space and he’ll find open players.
Connor McDavid is leading the team with nine points, but a lot of press coverage is about Celebrini and how well he’s handling the moment. It really does seem like he’s being embraced not just by the team, but by this country as well. How do you see the rest of the tournament going for him?
Back in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics, Jonathan Toews and Crosby were in their early 20s. We all embraced those young guys coming up because we saw how much youthful energy they were bringing in their skill and the ability to help Canada win. I think for Mac, he seems to be in that same element that Crosby and Toews were in back in 2010. I don’t expect anything different. I expect his game to continue to elevate as the competition gets tighter.