Welcome To The Macklin Celebrini Show

Welcome To The Macklin Celebrini Show

How do you know when you’re watching the beginnings of an all-time great talent? Not just elite or exceptional, but the kind of player that steps into the league and surpasses all expectations while still being a teenager. Right now, Mlin Celibbrini is doing just that. He became the fastest teenager to reach 20 points since Cydney Crosby did it back in the ‘ 06 07 season. And as of right now, he sits with the other future faces of the league, leading the NHL in scoring. Last year, we saw just how good he was as a rookie, and already this season, he may be showing all of us that he’s even better than we thought. There’s been a lot of chatter about Celibbrini potentially making team Canada as a teenager. With every day that passes by, it’s harder and harder to argue against it. The production is clearly there, but the process and his overall play is indication that he could be ready to compete at best on best. For Celabbrini, there’s three areas of his game that truly stand out. First, let’s start with the transition game. Last year, CBR’s rush game was among the very best in the NHL as a rookie. When it came to controlled zone entries and creating offense off the rush, very few in the league had better advance numbers than Celibbrini. Last year, we highlighted a couple reasons for this. Mainly being his willingness to drive in between the dot lanes on entries. What compounded his effectiveness was his craftiness within this area to manipulate defenders and open up space for his teammates. This is a staple for the best rush threats in the league. They attack the middle, demand attention, and then use a variety of speed changes, delays, and bun hooks to manufacture grade A chances. He’s almost always attacking on an angle, and with his speed, he’s very hard to contain. Now, in his second year, teams are a little bit more familiar and they’re planning accordingly. More frequently this year, the opposition is way more eager to step up in the neutral zone to cut off the threat early so that he can’t get going with a head of steam with possession. However, instead of relying on him to go coast to coast, butter and toast, the Sharks have had to use far more of these wall bump plays further up the ice to hit Celbrini with speed. It’s a testament to his linemates and to Foley and Smith who are really good at these small area plays off the wall, but it’s also Celibbrini’s timing off the puck that is setting him up for success. For example, when his winger’s facing pressure on the wall, he will swing from the weak side of the ice to get close for support and provide an option for a quick pass. If the winger has more time to make a play, CBrini is going to drive right through the middle with speed and take a more direct route to back up defenders. Because of this threat, teams now have to decide whether or not gapping up is the smart play. The F3 either has to pressure the Wallman or stay above Celibbrini and requires a quick decision that usually ends with Celibbrini gaining the zone. Already in his sophomore season, we’re seeing how he and the Sharks are adapting to tighter looks. With his kind of production and speed and flash, it’s easy to see what he does with the puck and be amazed. But similar to his transition game, his success comes from his roots away from the puck in the ozone. Now, this is a play that starts with Celbrini driving the net to create room. Nothing comes of it. But as this puck swings around the boards, Celibbrini knows that as the F3, his job is to bust his ass to be the support for the D coming down to wall to pinch. This is that San Jose can maintain pressure and that the D can come down the wall and pinch freely without having to hesitate. Now he’s going to peel back into the zone but take a wide route into all this space. Sure enough, he ends up sitting pretty for the puck right on his stick and he lets a rip for a goal. We see a very similar play in Anaheim as well as CBrini’s ozone positioning allows San Jose to be aggressive. This is how the very best teams in the world play with the very best centers at the backbone of the execution. Alexander Barov in my opinion is the gold standard at this exact thing in Florida. It’s why they’ve won so many cups and really moving forward it’s the standard of the NHL. So again here proper ozone positioning is going to give him possession but the best offensive players have this ability to get lost and watch Celbrini here defer to his deactivating and instead of driving himself into the traffic he’s going to peel off. Where is he going now? When pucks are low in the zone almost every NHL defensive unit collapses. So once San Jose gets possession again to attack, Cibbrini can re-enter the fold with a solid gap advantage and speed while attacking downhill and no checks are attached to him. He catches one boy standing still. Anaheim is now reactive instead of proactive. He adds another apple to the CBrini stat line. This ability to get lost in coverage is a defining trait for elite players. It’s something that Jack Hughes in particular does really well. However, at the end of the day, you still need to facilitate within traffic to create offense. And one way I like to describe it is how a QB has what they call pocket presence. The best quarterbacks in the NFL have a great sense of when to deliver on the pocket or to escape for a better play. And so, as an offensive player in hockey, you got to make similar reads to understand where the threats lie and where there’s soft spots in coverage. This play right here is a great example. As the puck changes sides, he’s going to stay right in that soft spot in the high slot to provide an option. He knows this pocket of space isn’t going to last. So, he takes this pass and instead of onetiming it into potentially a stick or a leg, he’s going to touch this puck laterally into open space. And now, not only has he created an angle change for the goalie, but he’s created a clear lane for himself and he does not miss. Deception and manipulation goes far beyond than when you just have possession of the puck. Celabbrini in year two is already showing this advanced knack for getting defenders to fall for false routes so that he can arrive in open space for a golden chance. That right there is why he’s in the 99th percentile for the league when it comes to mid-range goals. Now, that’s all without the puck. With the puck, you better not believe a damn thing this kid shows you. He maybe more than most in the league is always trying to deceive defenders with his head and eyes. He uses his entire body language to tell lies to defenders about his intentions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t even know if this kid knows what color the puck is because he’s never looking down at it. Unless, of course, that’s what he wants you to think. Not only does this allow him to constantly survey his options, but his commitment to these fakes is what makes it so compelling and hard to read as a defender. As you can imagine, this has only improved his playmaking in the zone. People always equate possession with domination, but if you’ve watched Sydney Crosby for the last two decades, his time with the puck is extremely brief as he often values quick puck movement to dismantle destructures. Celbrini is similar. Off the wall, he’s very good at taking pucks and funneling them quickly into high danger areas before defenses can collapse on top of him and take away his space and angle them off. He’s already setting up the next play or an inslot chance for his teammates. Of course, if you give him time and space with possession, too, he’s going to torture you with his playmaking and vision. It’s why right now he ranks third amongst all forwards in the NHL in slot passes. Of course, the final piece to his game is his defense. His offensive and defensive game are intrinsically linked. As we talked about his F3 support, generating offense for the Sharks, but the best teams in the NHL track the puck really well as a fiveman unit. And Celbrini already leads the way here. It starts with his motor, but it is compounded with his IQ of the game. Watch here as he just rips his way through center while taking an effective angle to cut off all options and force a dump in. But on plays like this where he gets beat up the wall, he tracks really well back to avoid any pull-up play that the puck carrier may make. His pressure leaves little space and then on top of that, he anticipates the drop play and breaks it up. That right there is a coach’s wet dream. Now, San Jose in particular has played a 113 in the neutral zone. And so, as the F1 or F2, you can see how well CBrini speed and angling can force turnovers for San Jose. And like I said, what separates him early on and stands out right away has been his motor. Since day one of coming into the league, he’s been extremely effective at winning puck battles and even on the forche. His speed and tenacity is such a valuable asset to the Sharks. You put all this together and you have a teenager that is playing a complete game that we only see out of the game’s very best at an age far older than 19. His improved play in just year two is a big reason why a rebuilding team in San Jose is even close to 500 hockey right now. Cabbrini is one part of the future of the NHL. But right now, it’s looking like the future is actually just here. And if this keeps up, he is likely a lock to represent team Canada at the Olympics in February. So, what do you think of Mlin Cabbrini? And also a big shout out to the virtual hockey scout. He found a ton of the clips for us. He did a fantastic piece on Cabbrini’s all-around game, which I’ll link in the description down below. So, check that out. And also drop a comment on who you think is better, Connor Baddard or Mlin Cabbrini. Don’t you worry, we got a Bedard breakdown coming very soon on the channel. So, make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications to get that video. And also, we got weekly recaps along with other breakdowns coming every single week and Sunday. So, make sure you stay tuned to the channel and we’ll see you in the next

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Macklin Celebrini is one of the bright young NHL Phenoms that are tearing up the league right now. In this video, we take a look at how one of the future faces of the league is carrying a rebuilding San Jose Shark team to relevancy.

Please check out our friends at @virtualhockeyscout for some great reads & breakdowns on players. You can check out his Macklin Celebrini piece right here! https://open.substack.com/pub/virtualhockeyscout/p/2025-26-season-spotlight-macklin?r=3664jm&utm_medium=ios