The accolades continue to stack up for the Sharks’ phenom.
Macklin Celebrini may be the most interesting man in hockey.
Fresh off his record-breaking sophomore season, Celebrini continues to grab headlines.
In case you have been living under a rock, let me get you up to speed.
IIHF Player of the Year
An Olympian at just 19 years old. Representing one of the top countries in hockey. More importantly, he proved to the world he belonged there: five goals and five assists in six games to lead the Olympic tournament.
He followed that up by being named captain of Team Canada at the World Championships. A 19-year-old. Captain. That team was not full of scrubs; they are all NHL players. Those players voted for Celebrini to be captain. Even Sidney Crosby, Captain Canada(!), wanted Celebrini to remain Captain. That says a lot.
200 media and IIHF members voted on the Player of the Year award. Celebrini received 40.8% of the votes. Second place was Connor Hellebuyck with 20.4%. Celebrini did not just win it. He ran away with it.
EA’s NHL 27 Cover Athlete
Celebrini was named the cover athlete of the next NHL game. Again, teenagers do not make the cover of games like that. Yes, I know he is now 20, but his resume for the game was completed before his birthday.
Celebrini is the first Shark on the EA’s NHL franchise since Owen Nolan way back in 2001. He is also the first Shark to grace a video game cover since Joe Thornton in the 2K series in 2007. It just goes to show that the entire hockey world, and maybe even sports as a whole, are recognizing how great this young man is.
He Even Won an ESPY
Credit: NHLPA-Twitter/XAh, yes, ESPN’s own award show, the ESPYs. That time of year when there is absolutely nothing going on in the sports world (except this year with the FIFA World Cup).
Believe it or not, Celebrini “won” an ESPY. The award? Best sports card. The 2025 Upper Deck “The Cup” rookie shield patch auto (1/1)—a holy grail of holy grails in the card world.
Apparently, it is Macklin Celebrini’s world, and we are just living in it.
Everyone is excited to see what he and the Sharks will do next year.
I believe he will lead the Sharks back to the playoffs next season.
Before that, though, Celebrini’s summer should end by being named Captain of the San Jose Sharks.
