San Jose Sharks young star Macklin Celebrini is turning heads across the league with the way he’s playing this season. And he showed it again in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Sharks may be in the middle of a rebuild and sit fifth in the Pacific Division, but Celebrini has quickly become the face of their progress. His numbers are now pushing him into territory usually reserved for the NHL’s top player, Connor McDavid.
Sharks Star Macklin Celebrini Joins Rare McDavid-Level Pace
Celebrini put up a goal and two assists for a three-point night against Carolina, bringing him to 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points on the season. That ties him with McDavid for the league lead in assists and actually moves him one point ahead of the Oilers captain in total points.
Macklin Celebrini has two assists for the @SanJoseSharks and is now tied with Connor McDavid for the most assists this season (28). #NHLStats
Tune in 🌎: https://t.co/dT34F4MhkC pic.twitter.com/VKDtSYjLUy
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) December 7, 2025
He also just crossed the 100-game mark in his NHL career, and with 106 points, he ranks sixth among all active players through their first 100 games, an elite group to be part of.
100 games in to his NHL career, Macklin Celebrini is up there with some of the greats 🦈 pic.twitter.com/nWYBm1z2O0
— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2025
Celebrini’s rise, along with fellow young star Connor Bedard in Chicago, has already put both players in the conversation for Team Canada’s forward group at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics. Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong acknowledged that Celebrini has absolutely played his way into the mix.
“They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do, in the sense that we wanted to take the first two or three months to give everybody an opportunity to play their way onto the team, or at least to be talked about as contenders,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong noted that the team wanted to use the first few months of the season to see which young players could elevate themselves, and Celebrini has done exactly that. He added that top picks like Celebrini and Bedard were expected to make an impact eventually, and he’s impressed, though not shocked, by how quickly they’ve reached that level.
For now, Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks turn their attention to Tuesday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
