Macklin Celebrini has been nothing short of spectacular for the San Jose Sharks this season.
The Sharks’ franchise centerman is being compared to Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews, and is in the same sentence as all-time greats like Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky.
#SJSharks Macklin Celebrini (13-17—30 in 20 GP) became the fourth teenager in NHL history to post 30 points through their first 20 games of a season. He joins Sidney Crosby (10-22—32 in 2006-07), Wayne Gretzky (9-22—31 in 1980-81 & 9-21—30 in 1979-80), and Mario Lemieux (6-24—30…— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) November 19, 2025
But for Celebrini, he doesn’t care about being in the same group as these NHL legends.
“It’s cool. That’s the first time I’m hearing about it, and I don’t really want to hear about that,” Celebrini said postgame. “That’s not really what’s important.”
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What is important to Celebrini is the San Jose Sharks winning games. In year two of Celebrini’s career, that is becoming more common.
The Sharks have completely erased a 0-4-2 start and have gone 9-4-1 since. Celebrini has led the charge with 11 goals and 13 assists in the last 14 games.
His Sharks teammates do nothing but praise him and look to him as a leader, no matter how long they’ve been in the league.
“He’s special. I think everyone in here, everyone in this building, sees how special he is as a player, as a human being as well. He’s not just an asshole around and walking around and saying that he’s the best player. He always wants to get better every day. I’m sure, next skate, he’s gonna be one of the first guys on the ice to work on something else. It’s impressive to see. It inspires everyone, [everyone] wants to follow him,” Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais said.
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“When you play like that, you’re that guy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 30 [or] 18. He’s got that maturity. Just from last year to this year, we see a big difference. Whether it’s on the ice, off the ice, he’s still a clown. He still loves to have fun, and it’s awesome to see, because everyone wants to talk to him and joke around. When it’s time to go to work, he leads by example. Like I said, whether you’re 19 or 30, if you play like that, and you have that work ethic and that maturity, it doesn’t really matter.”
The San Jose Sharks forward is tied for second in the NHL in points with 30. He’s only behind Nathan MacKinnon, who said that he should be on Team Canada’s Olympic roster over the summer.
While all this has happened to the Sharks’ star, he’s remained humble and focused on team success.
“Coming into this year, all of us wanted to take that next step as a team. This is a game we probably would have lost last year,” Celebrini said. “I think just showing the steps we’re taking.
It wasn’t good to give up those two goals, giving up a breakaway and then the other one, but I think it’s definitely the steps we want to take.”
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