Celebrini Back at Practice: Talks Hanging Out With Misa, Olympic Buzz, Sophomore Hype

Macklin Celebrini is back at practice.

Celebrini has missed the last three days of regular training camp with an illness. The star center re-joined regularly scheduled San Jose Sharks’ practice on Tuesday, centering Will Smith and Jeff Skinner.

The Sharks also worked on their power play.

Don’t see Klingberg on the ice.

Related, #SJSharks practicing power play, Dickinson, Celebrini, Smith, Toffoli & Eklund on PP1, Orlov, Misa, Skinner, Kurashev & Wennberg on PP2

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) September 23, 2025

This is the 19-year-old’s first media availability this season.

Celebrini discussed all the buzz around his name, including the possibility of representing Canada in the Olympics. He also talked about hanging out with Michael Misa, being on a line with Smith, leaving Tyler Toffoli on the Grouse Grind, learning from Sidney Crosby this summer, the sleepover bobblehead, and more.

Macklin Celebrini, on how he feels coming into camp:

It’s nice coming into a spot you’re familiar with. We have a bunch of new guys, but for all the personnel, it’s kind of the same staff. It’s nice to go to a familiar place, feel comfortable, and know what to expect.

Celebrini, on the changes GM Mike Grier has made:

I think we have some guys in here that can help our group and help us contribute to the goal we want and win some more games. We need to take that next step and push towards that.

Celebrini, on Ryan Reaves:

I think we had a really good group, but he helps tremendously—just the attitude he brings, the energy, and the way he treats everyone.

Celebrini, on Michael Misa:

He’s an awesome, great kid. We hung out a bunch before camp started. I haven’t seen him in a bit, but I think he’s played really well, it’s fun to watch him…He’s a great kid. He’s just super-humble.

Celebrini, did you give him any advice about the transition to the NHL at 18?

I mean, he’ll figure it out. It takes some time. I told him what everyone does—try to learn every day, be prepared for the contact. He’ll be fine.

Celebrini, on being invited to Worlds, then Olympic Orientation Camp:

That was an awesome experience. Any chance you get to represent your country, especially at the Olympics, I think it’s something you think about when you’re a kid, so it means a lot. Just even being considered for a spot on that team, I think it’s one of the hardest teams to make in hockey, and you never know what’s going to happen.

Celebrini, on spending time with Sidney Crosby:

I mean, I love doing that. With Worlds, it was great to just talk to him, learn from him and the different experiences he’s had and watch some of the things he does and his habits.

He’s an idol of mine growing up and someone I looked up to. Anytime you get comments from your peers and people you play against, it definitely means a little bit more.

Celebrini, on his expectations for himself and the San Jose Sharks this season:

I think it’s pretty clear. When you’re losing, no one’s having fun. As much as you try to look at the positives and learn from it and all that cliché stuff, it’s not fun. It’s not enjoyable when you lose. The more we can gel together and come together during the preseason and try to get as ready as we can for the start of the season so we start well, that’s a big thing. Then, we just take it day by day.

Celebrini, on how he deals with external pressures and expectations for his future:

The way I look at it, tomorrow I could have a bad day, and people could be saying stuff, so it doesn’t really matter. There’s a lot of opinions, a lot of people that say different things. At the end of the day, in a month, things can change and people can switch whatever they’re thinking. I have a belief in myself, I know the player I am, and I know the time that I’ve put into it. Whatever people say, if it’s from people you respect and look up to, it means a little more, whether it’s criticism or confidence. But I just think you can’t really look into it too much, because you have to stick to what you believe and how you approach everything.

I mean, I don’t think I really think about it away from the rink either. It’s kind of the way we grew up. We all have social media and we see different things, but it doesn’t really affect what I’m going to do the next day when I come to the rink or how I approach the next day. It’s not going to change anything, so I’m not going to let it bug me or change the way I think.

Celebrini, on whether he’ll be thinking about Olympic evaluations this season:

Like I said, it’s something I dreamed about as a kid, but I can’t really control. What I can control is how I play and see if we can win some games at the start of the year here. I think for playing well as a team, I think it’ll help that case.

Celebrini, on what he wants to improve individually:

There were a lot of things that I worked on this summer. I just watched some film, and there’s a lot to clean up. A big one is I think I was -31 last year, which isn’t good, so that’s gotta change.

Celebrini, on working with Zenon Konopka:

He has a lot of great insight into draws. Just talking to him for 10-15 minutes, I think that helped a lot. Hopefully, he’s around the next couple of days so I can learn a little bit more from him.

Celebrini, on playing alongside Will Smith on a line again:

We ended the year together and we had some really good chemistry. If we stick together, we can create some offense.

Celebrini, on what Jeff Skinner adds to that line:

He’s been around the league for a long time. I think he has a 50-goal season, so he’s a really good player, and I think he adds that offensive piece. He’s also just been around, is a veteran, knows a lot about the game.

Celebrini, on leaving Tyler Toffoli behind on the Grouse Grind:

Yeah. It was his first time, so you got to give him a break.

Celebrini, on the sleepover bobblehead:

It’s crazy how big that thing got. I mean, we just did it for fun and then it turned into all of this, so it’s pretty cool.

Celebrini, on taking more of a leadership role this season:

I mean, I want to feel comfortable being myself and speaking up when I want to. We have a couple of Stanley Cup winners and guys who have been around for a long time, so you respect their voices and what they have to say. They’ve just been around and they’ve seen a lot more than I have, so I’m definitely going to learn a lot from them.

Celebrini, on whether he’ll be thinking about Olympic evaluations this season:

Like I said, it’s something I dreamed about as a kid, but I can’t really control. What I can control is how I play and see if we can win some games at the start of the year here. I think for playing well as a team, I think it’ll help that case.

Special thanks to Maddie Dutra for transcribing