NHL
2026 Olympic
Hockey
Teenager Macklin Celebrini has four goals through three games in his debut Olympics. RvS.Media / Monika Majer / Getty Images
MILAN — Rick Celebrini loves the paradox of the story he’s telling. It’s one about a call he received from his son Macklin. The San Jose Sharks’ rising superstar called his pops as he waited at the San Francisco airport for his flight bound for New York, where the charter awaited to take the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team to Italy.
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Among other things, the lad had a question. One revealing the youngster’s concern and need for the comforting assurance of his father.
“They wouldn’t bring me all that way,” Macklin asked, “not to play me, right?”
Celebrini smiled. He’s still smiling, even now, while he watches his daughter take in a tennis lesson in Italy. It’s a story that both reveals how sudden and surreal this all is for the Celebrini family.
“I’m pretty sure you’re going to play,” the father said. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
The story ends later, days later, before Team Canada first took the ice.
“He gets there and looks up on the board an hour before the first practice,” Celebrini said, “and he’s playing with (No.) 97.”
Dad was right. Celebrini went from wondering if he would play to being the young buck in a fantasy of a top line. Call them the Three Macs: Connor McDavid (the aforementioned No. 97), Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin. Two of the best players in the world and a 19-year-old phenom who is living a dream that keeps unlocking levels.
His father went from hoping his son would make their national team to watching his son score the first goal of Canada’s first game in his first Olympic appearance. Assisted by MacKinnon.
Celebrini, the Golden State Warriors’ vice president of player health and performance, has a stoic exterior thicker than a teenager’s skull. It’s been hardened by decades in sports, in Canada and the United States, in soccer, hockey and basketball, and working with some of the biggest names in sports.
Oh, the awe is there. The 58-year-old guru physiotherapist knows as well as anyone what greatness looks like, what it requires and how cool it is. He just doesn’t ogle at it, doesn’t let it bubble to the surface. His competitive edge, his respect for process, how much he’s seen, makes him cling to perspective.
But this? It’s just too much to play it cool.
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His son playing for Team Canada? In the Winter Olympics? For Vancouver’s own, the Burnaby, B.C.-born former Canadian pro soccer player whose heart is the shape of a maple leaf? And not only that, but tied for the tournament lead in goals with four in three games?
Yeah, this hits differently.
Celebrini trained with the likes of Steve Nash and Steph Curry. He knows the highs of championships and the lows of having his own soccer career snuffed out by injuries. Seeing what he’s seen, it takes “epic” to elicit excitement from him. And this, for all the exceptional people, places and moments he’s been around, is epic. Celebrini even rediscovered his nerves.
“The first game, I was legit nervous,” he said. “I’ve been more nervous than I’ve been in a long time watching any of the kids’ sports games. And I think Mack was — well, I know Mack was really nervous as well. When he scored that goal, I think it settled us all down. I think the whole team was nervous. But I think when he got that tip goal, it just kind of allowed us to breathe a little bit and relax.”
Macklin fits because his game surpasses his age. It’s built on intelligence and skill, allowing him to read and respond at their speed. It takes quite the processor to keep up with McDavid and MacKinnon. But Celebrini doesn’t need the puck to be impactful. He anticipates lanes, wins small-area battles and makes the quick, connective plays — necessary when part of an attack featuring McDavid at center. Plus Celebrini’s shot deserves respect. With his motor, Celebrini proves a complement on a line defined by pace, precision and explosiveness.
This ride seems to have no end. It began with being the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He finished third in voting for the Calder Trophy. He opened his second season with 23 points through the first 15 games, already producing as one of the league’s best offensive creators.
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The ride turned up again on New Year’s Eve. That’s when Canada named Macklin to the squad. He became the youngest NHL player ever to make their Olympic roster. He was the youngest player considered when Canada invited him to orientation camp.
Hence Macklin’s concern about playing. Canada’s never seen this before, so it made sense for him to wonder whether his inclusion was more ceremonial, a way to prepare him for the future when he actually plays. But no, Celebrini’s kid is no token call-up.
His talent, his mindset, his physique — it’s ready now. Ready enough to be grouped with the best. After opening the scoring against the Czech Republic, surpassing Jonathan Toews as the youngest Canadian NHL player to score an Olympic goal, Macklin scored again in a 5-1 win over Switzerland.
Still higher levels could be unlocked. Canada’s a favorite to win gold. So much can happen in a hockey tournament, but they could … you know.
And wouldn’t that be something.
Celebrini trained his son for this, which is largely why Macklin can play at this level at this age. But his readiness for these persistent monumental accomplishments is merely a byproduct and not the intended aim. Celebrini didn’t set out to sculpt a hockey star, one who can run with the big boys even though he just became of legal age to drink back home in B.C.
That Macklin is here, doing this, is cosmic fortune, an alignment of excellence not even a father could imagine.
Over time, it became clearer Macklin was good enough to eventually be an NHL player, and maybe an Olympian. Even as a rookie, his production and ability pointed toward him one day making the team.
“Up until the start of the season,” Celebrini said, “when he got off to a pretty good start, I didn’t think that this year would be realistic.”
But this has been fast enough to crack his father’s stoic facade. Team Canada doesn’t do teenagers. At least it didn’t. This iteration came to Milan with gold-medal quality and intentions as the Winter Olympics returned to best-on-best hockey with the inclusion of NHL players for the first time since 2014. This squad seemed too strong for the second-year Sharks sensation. But to see this?
“It is crazy,” the dad continued. “Not only is he playing, but he’s contributing in a meaningful way and having fun out there. And by extension, so are we.”
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Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic. He is a prominent voice in the Bay Area sports scene after 18 years with Bay Area News Group, including 10 seasons covering the Warriors and four as a columnist. Marcus is also the author of the best-selling biography “GOLDEN: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry.” Follow Marcus on Twitter @thompsonscribe
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