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The Sharks’ closest thing to Steph Curry, Macklin Celebrini is having a moment.
The 19-year-old forward is the youngest hockey player to represent Team Canada at the Olympics since NHL players became eligible, the strongest sign yet of his burgeoning superstardom. His time in Milan interrupts a sensational sophomore season for the San Jose Sharks, in which he has posted the fourth-most points in the NHL.
The former top pick’s rapid ascent has attracted keen attention from around the Bay, but perhaps nowhere more than at Warriors HQ, where his dad, Rick Celebrini, has worked as chief medicine guru since 2018.
“It’s so fun to see Mack doing so well, just the context of it all,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “He was hanging around here as a kid, about 14, and now, all of the sudden, he’s in the MVP race in the NHL.”
Celebrini grew up in close proximity to Steph Curry and Draymond Green, who are now two of his biggest fans. The Warriors stars have each represented the United States at the Olympics. Now it’s Celebrini’s turn. His Olympic experience starts Thursday, as Team Canada opens group play against Czechia. The Warriors will be tuning in.
“I know he’s the youngest on this team by seven years,” Curry told The Standard. “He still has this idea and spirit of awe of where he’s at, which is amazing for a 19-year-old to have with the success he’s already had. Just excited to give me a reason to watch some Olympic hockey. Hopefully there’s a Canadian-U.S. showdown.”
Celebrini has the advantage of having a dad with some of the most cutting-edge physiotherapy and training methods in the world.
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Rick, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, would “gamify” physical activities for his two sons, creating obstacle courses for them on playgrounds. He once set up a sprinting circuit in an airport terminal during a flight delay. On vacations in Hawaii, Rick would critique his sons’ strides in the sand.
All that early-age motor-skill development helped Celebrini become one of the world’s most exciting hockey players. He’s the type of forward who crosses over defenders with the game on the line to score, (opens in new tab) but also fights along the boards for 50/50 pucks.
“He works his butt off,” Curry said. “I know he has no choice with his last name being Celebrini.”
Celebrini is already the face of the Sharks franchise, leading them to the cusp of ending their playoff drought. The Sidney Crosby (opens in new tab) comparisons are already here. An Olympics moment is next.
Rick, who watches Sharks games on his phone during team flights, is heading to Milan as a proud dad. Curry has been to a couple of Sharks games and likes to read recaps the next day. When Celebrini was living up to the hype of the No. 1 overall pick last year, Green compared him to LeBron James.
Green’s comments reverberated all the way to the South Bay. Coach Ryan Warsofsky showed the clip to the team to highlight what it takes to form a winning culture.
“They know what it looks like, what winning looks like, and we’re trying to take those experiences as well,” Warsofsky said of the Warriors. “And I think Mack is kind of who he is, because he’s been around those guys, and obviously his parents did an unbelievable job raising him, but being around great players and great competitors just, you know, burns more fire in you to be like them. So I think he’s been very valuable for him.”
Given his dad’s high-ranking role, Celebrini might as well have a standing invitation to the Warriors’ facility. He still hangs around from time to time. Even this year, as he has rocketed into MVP consideration for the Sharks, he spent an off day at Chase Center.
“I was looking at him, like, ‘What are you doing here?’” Curry said. “It’s the last thing I’d do on one of our off days — I probably wouldn’t be in the locker room or the gym, hanging up out here in the dungeon with us.”
Maybe to be the best, you have to hang around the best. Celebrini wants to capture what the Warriors have created in their dynastic years and bring it to San Jose.
“I really hope so,” Celebrini said. “I think you kind of see it a little bit more in the vibe around our team and the people coming to our games, a little bit more of The Tank is getting a little bit more full. So I think just, I hope it gets to that point. And I mean, right now, we’re doing everything we can to kind of keep it going in that direction. And I mean, it’ll take a couple years, but I think we’re getting there.”
Lofty goals. But if anyone can do it, it might just be him.
“That’s the belief he has in who he is as a player,” Curry said. “It’s not just talking — he walks the walk with the work he puts in. He understands — it’s great to put your goals out there, because at least he has to be accountable for him. Give him something to shoot for that most people might laugh at. But most people would probably laugh at a 19-year-old being on a line with Connor McDavid in the Olympics. You love to hear that. He’s got ambition.”