Who is Macklin Celebrini? NHL teen phenom pushes for Olympics spot

San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini is joining some elite company as he dominates early in the 2025-26 season.

Celebrini, 19, completed a hat trick with an overtime goal in the Sharks’ 3-2 win against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to give him 30 points in 20 games. The only others in NHL history to be that prolific at such as a young age are Wayne Gretzky (twice), Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby.

He also tied Gretzky and Ted Kennedy for third-most hat tricks (three) by a player under 20. His surge has him second in the league scoring race behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and has him in the conversation about the Olympics.

Here’s what to know about Macklin Celebrini:

When was Macklin Celebrini drafted?

The Sharks drafted Celebrini No. 1 overall in 2024.

Where did Celebrini play before the NHL?

He was drafted out of Boston University, where he played for one season. He won the Hobey Baker Award with 64 points in 38 games. He helped the Terriers reach the Frozen Four, where they lost to Denver in the semifinals.

Macklin Celebrini’s NHL stats

Celebrini was third in rookie of the year voting and made the first all-rookie team in 2024-25 after finishing with 63 points in 70 games. He has 13 goals and 17 assists in 20 games this season. MacKinnon is first with 33 points and Celebrini holds the tiebreaker on Connor McDavid (30 points) because he has more goals.

Could Macklin Celebrini make the Olympics?

That question is being raised for both Celebrini and Chicago’s Connor Bedard, 20, who has 29 points in 19 games and also had a hat trick on Tuesday night. Celebrini is considered to be the better defensive player of the two and he played for Canada at the world championships. Both were invited to Canada’s orientation camp and Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong told NHL.com on Nov. 10: ‘You just look at the way they’re playing right now. They’ve got our attention.’

But Team Canada, which won the 4 Nations Face-Off, has an extremely deep pool from which to choose. Canada has already named forwards Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart among its first six players. Final rosters are due by Dec. 31.

Could Macklin Celebrini win MVP?

The Hart Trophy is for the most valuable player to this team. Celebrini is among the early leaders and is the MVP of the Sharks. If he keeps this up and leads the Sharks to the playoffs (they’re currently 9-8-3) after two seasons at the bottom of the league, he’ll get his share of votes.