Chances are, if hockey fans were asked who the frontrunners should be for the Hart Trophy, common answers would be Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche power forward Nathan MacKinnon, both of whom are great answers.
Saying that, as we head towards the Olympic break, one name who should be leading the Hart Trophy voting is San Jose Sharks sophomore, 19-year-old forward Macklin Celebrini.Â
San Jose Sharks’ sophomore Macklin Celebrini emerging into star player
Looking to build off an impressive 63-point (25 goals, 38 assists) rookie season, Celebrini, who was selected by the Sharks first overall in 2024, sits fourth among the NHL’s scoring leaders with 74 points (26 goals, 48 assists) and is the major reason why this season the rebuilding Sharks have surprised critics by surpassing expectations by finding themselves in the Western Conference playoff race. Unbelievably, this 19 year-old has contributed to 50.6% this year of Sharks goals.
Truth be told, if not for Celebrini’s contributions both offensively and defensively, then the Sharks would be near the bottom of the league with visions of playoff hockey this spring in San Jose a non-realistic possibility.
As of Sunday, January 25th, Celebrini’s 74 points are a whopping 40 points ahead of the Sharks second-leading scorer in veteran forward Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg who both have 34 points.
Most recently, on Friday, January 23rd at the SAP Center, Celebrini made the difference with a two-goal performance in a 3-1 win against the New York Rangers, which drew lots of praise.
“He’s been one of the best in the league,” Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said. “He’s not only showed that against us, he’s shown that against I feel like every team they’ve played. You look at what he’s been able to do, it’s obviously impressive. Unbelievable player, and at such a young age to be able to have the impact, that’s impressive. Kudos to him. Obviously, him playing well again didn’t help us.”
Celebrini in his second season, making hockey history
it’s been a truly historic season for Celebrini who has gotten his name in the record books.
Back on Tuesday, November 18th at the SAP Center, Celebrini showed that flair for the dramatics when he produced a hattrick which included scoring the overtime winner during a 3-2 win against the Utah Mammoth which put him into some exclusive company.
These three goals enabled Celebrini put him in a group with future Hall of Famer, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky as the only teenagers to hit the 30 point plateau in the first 20 games of the season.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mario Lemieux also achieved the feat in 1984-85 in the 20 games, but had to miss seven games in the process.
“It’s cool, but that’s the first time I’m hearing about it,” Celebrini said. “I don’t really want to hear about that. That’s not what’s important.”
More recently, Celebrini made more hockey history when on Friday, January 23rd this star scored two goals during a 3-1 home win against the New York Rangers. With those two goals, Celebrini made NHL history by becoming only the 12th teenager to have hit the 25 goal plateau in more than one season.
Celebrini makes Team Canada 2026 Olympic Roster
When Celebrini got off to a fast start, the million dollar question among hockey fans and media alike was whether he should be included on Team Canada’s roster for the upcoming February 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.
This season, Celebrini began the season by producing 24 points in his first 16 games in a season which moved him alongside such legends as Steve Yzerman (1984-85) and Crosby (2006-07) for most points by a teenager in that amount of games.
Celebrini hasn’t slowed down since and as a result, in late December, he was named to Canada’s Olympic team. Born in Vancouver, Celebrini, who will be the youngest player on Canada, becomes the seventh Shark in franchise history to represent Canada at the Olympic games.
The other six include Hall of Famer Joe Thornton (2006 and 2010), Dany Heatley (2010), Dan Boyle (2010), Patrick Marleau (2010 and 2014) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in 2014.
Chances are McDavid or MacKinnon will win this years Hart Trophy which will be well deserved. But once again, Celebrini doesn’t have the same supporting cast as those two do and if you take him away from the Sharks then they would be as mentioned earlier not close to being in playoff contention.
It comes down the same question… Is MVP most valuable in the NHL or is it most valuable to his team?
Main Image: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
