Added general manager Mike Grier: “Your hard work, the way you lead our group. Just watching you in training camp going double shifts there. But you’re pushing the group, so this is, well, a well-deserved honor. So congratulations.”
On Sept. 17, Grier told reporters that he viewed a team captaincy as “sacred.” When asked why Celebrini had the right tools to earn that status, Grier focused more on the person than the player.
“I think one, being a good person. If you’re going to be someone who’s going to lead a group, you have to be a good person. You got to do the right things. You’ve got to show up to work every day,” Grier said Friday. “I think those are the main things because when you try and lead a group, you can’t ask someone to do something you’re not willing to do, and I think Mack has shown that he has those qualities. He’s put in more time than anyone here to prepare himself and get ready to play.”
It has been a whirlwind year for Celebrini, who also played for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, where he had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in six games.
He was then named Canada’s captain for the 2026 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, in May, and had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 10 games. Canada finished fourth, losing the bronze-medal game 3-2 in overtime to Norway.
“That was a tremendous honor. Just wearing it for my country and having some of those guys in that room, like (Sidney Crosby), (John Tavares), and (Ryan) O’Reilly. There were plenty of leaders in that room, and they were so gracious just to let me take that responsibility and have that trust in me,” Celebrini said. “I mean, throughout that tournament, it was a lot of learning, just asking them questions. Just being around those guys, watching how they do things.”