Wednesday was all about Macklin Celebrini, who officially was named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics earlier in the day.

And Celebrini’s play certainly backed up that decision; the 19-year-old phenom posted a goal and assist in regulation, plus a shootout score in the Sharks’ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center to end 2025 on a high note.

But another youngster, 20-year-old Igor Chernyshov, also rose to the occasion on New Year’s Eve as the rookie winger continued his flaming hot start to his NHL career with two more points. The 2024 second-round draft pick now has eight points in his first seven games with the Sharks.

While much of the talk postgame centered around Celebrini’s upcoming trip to Milan, the emerging partnership on San Jose’s current top line is garnering more attention after the duo combined for two impressive goals.

Coach Ryan Warsofsky was particularly impressed by Chernyshov’s savvy move on elite Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes to score the Sharks’ opening goal.

“That is an NHL move,” Warsofsky told reporters. “The speed, the demand that he wants with the puck. Him and Mack have obviously got some chemistry going right now, so a great finish. We’ve seen that — he had a couple of chances, similar move, and he actually just keeps like, similar to Mack, he keeps getting better.”

San Jose winger Jeff Skinner had similar praise for Chernyshov, who has filled in nicely for the injured Will Smith alongside Celebrini.

“He’s been great. Obviously, not much to go off before he got here a couple weeks ago,” Skinner said after providing a goal of his own Wednesday. “He’s really skilled, really big body and sort of knows how to put himself in the right spots. And I think that’s what you see with good — I think he’s been a goal scorer most of his life — and good point producers.

“He’s going to get his looks, and he wins his battles. You see him and Mack have some good chemistry, so that’s been fun to watch.”

All of a sudden, the Sharks now can fantasize about a future top line of Chernyshov, Celebrini and Smith — all three of whom are 20 years old or younger.

Each of the three youngsters already is producing plenty, helping San Jose reach 20 wins in 40 games thus far in the 2025-26 NHL season. For context, the team finished with 20 wins in the entirety of last season.

The surging Sharks clearly have improved significantly. If they can live up to Warsofsky’s words and keep getting better, then a teal future might be approaching sooner than anyone thought.

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