SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks named Macklin Celebrini the franchise’s 11th full-time captain on Friday, making him the youngest current NHL player to hold the honor.
General manager Mike Grier, coach Ryan Warsofsky, and Celebrini will hold a news conference at the Sharks’ practice facility on Friday afternoon.
On Friday morning, the Sharks posted a video of Grier holding the door open to the team’s theater room at Sharks Ice for Joe Thornton, who served as San Jose’s captain from 2010-2014. Thornton held a teal jersey with Celebrini’s name on the back and a capital ‘C’ on the front.
Thornton announced in June 2024 on stage at The Sphere in Las Vegas that the Sharks were taking Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft.
“I have the pleasure of introducing the captain of the San Jose Sharks,” Thornton said. “I know how much this guy means to everyone in the room and the whole Bay Area. So, Macklin, get up here, my friend.”
Celebrini becomes the youngest captain in team history and, at 20 years and 104 days old, the sixth-youngest full-time captain in NHL history.
Making it official https://t.co/eJDoy0ohi7
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) September 25, 2026
“I still have a lot of space to grow, I think, in my game and off the ice,” Celebrini said last month. “Growing into myself as hopefully a leader for this team. We have a great group of vets that have been amazing and helped guide all of us young guys and gave us the best kind of role models as possible.”
Celebrini, a native of North Vancouver, B.C., has been the Sharks’ leading scorer in each of his first two NHL seasons. In April, he established a new team record for scoring in a single season with 115 points in 82 games in 2025-26, breaking Thornton’s nearly 20-year-old record by one point.
Later in April, Celebrini, as an indication of how much respect he’s garnered from his peers across the league, was named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the NHL’s most outstanding player as voted by members of the NHL Players Association.
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid were also finalists, and McDavid later won.
Celebrini also captained Canada at the IIHF World Championship in May, a team that featured several respected NHL veterans, including his idol, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who wanted Celebrini to wear the ‘C’.
Logan Couture served as the Sharks’ captain from the start of the 2019-20 season until the end of 2024-25, when he announced that his playing career was ending due to a chronic injury to his groin and pelvic area. Couture began his Sharks career in 2009 and is fourth on the team’s all-time scoring list with 701 points.
Before last season began, the Sharks chose not to replace Couture, announcing instead that Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, Barclay Goodrow, Mario Ferraro and Alexander Wennberg would serve as alternate captains.
In July, the Sharks made Celebrini the highest-paid player in team history, signing him to a five-year, $94 million contract extension that keeps him with the team until the end of the 2031-32 season.
Friday’s announcement comes just over a week after training camp began on Sept. 17, when Grier said he was in no hurry to name a captain for this season.
“I’ve said before that the captaincy in this league, it’s a sacred thing to me,” Grier said. “It’s very important. It’s not something I’m in a rush to hand out to anyone. So when we do decide to name a captain, it’s hopefully someone who’s going to be captain for a long time.
“I don’t really believe in moving the ‘C’ around every year or every couple of years, whatever it may be. So we’ll take our time and make the best decision for the organization and for the players and the group.”
“I feel I’m comfortable with myself and how I lead,” Celebrini said last month when asked about the challenges of captaining a team, “and I don’t think it’d really change anything in the way I approach every day.”
Friday’s announcement about Celebrini becoming the team’s captain may have been revealed early by accident.
Celebrini jerseys for sale on the Sharks’ website for official merchandise briefly displayed a ‘C’ on the upper left side of the star centerman’s No. 71 sweater on Thursday afternoon.
The image was quickly removed and replaced by a Celebrini sweater that lacked the captain’s ‘C’ after it had been spotted – and shown – on a Sharks fan’s social media account.
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) chats with San Jose Sharks’ Sam Dickinson (6) after their 10-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) tries to get a shot off against Anaheim Ducks’ Nikita Klepov (40) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Ivar Stenberg (41) is congratulated on his goal by teammates, including San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71), against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) waits for a face-off against the Anaheim Ducks in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) looks to pass against the Anaheim Ducks in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) talks to San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) before a face-off against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) controls the puck against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) chats with San Jose Sharks’ Luca Cagnoni (42) before the start of the second period against the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) skates off the ice with San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) after their 10-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) chats with San Jose Sharks’ Sam Dickinson (6) after their 10-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)