Considering I think Connor McDavid is the best player in the world, this is something I almost hate to say. But even in a small group, Macklin Celebrini has a kind of weight – a presence – that is hard to ignore.
For fans who get the chance to see the youngster, he is a player to take note of. You watch a few shifts, maybe an entire period, and something in your gut says: this guy can really play this game. Macklin Celebrini has a bit of that feeling, even if I’m usually too cautious to risk elevating someone so young and so inexperienced to the status that Connor McDavid only lives in.
Current NHL players revolve around McDavid’s skill
McDavid is still the sun in the NHL sky. Everyone else revolves around him. He’s the fastest player I’ve ever seen who looks bored at full speed. His first step is practically dishonest. His career is already Hall of Fame-ready, even if he hangs up his skates tomorrow. No one else I know can decide to wind it up and go through an entire unit of five players at high speed and take out the goalkeeper.
So why do I think Celebrini has a ceiling even close to McDavid’s? It’s because what Celebrini is doing in San Jose right now doesn’t make much sense. He’s dominating the NHL scoring charts with, to put it politely, a roster in transition.
The team McDavid led in Edmonton already had some serious talent. I still remember those teams well. But with the Sharks, Celebrini isn’t just surviving. He thrives by controlling shifts and dictating the pace. He looks like the adult he is, and he’s 18. That’s rare.
McDavid came to the NHL with some advantages
McDavid arrived with a speed that resembled a cheat code. Auston Matthews arrived with the best pure release I’ve ever seen from a rookie. Sidney Crosby arrived with that heavy, hungry play that made the puck stick to him like he had magnets in his gloves.
Celebrini is different. None of his superpowers overshadow everything else. He’s already good at everything. He reads the ice like a veteran. He wins battles he shouldn’t have won. He shoots well enough to beat goalkeepers cleanly. He creates plays without forcing anything. He can handle heavy minutes without getting exhausted. Even more amazing is that he’s a 200-foot player who doesn’t just check back; he defends.
He is the complete package. He’s not a special player; he is a foundation. There is no panic in his playing. You really notice it when you’ve seen so many rookies who carry that little hint of nervous energy. They do an extra stickhandle, a rushed shot and some hesitation at the blue line. Celebrini skips all that. Every decision is calm, unhurried and mature. He plays like the entire league is watching, and he doesn’t care.
The bottom line for Celebrini?
Could he ever be ‘better’ than McDavid? If you mean raw, peak dominance where every shift electrifies the arena, I’m not sure anyone will touch McDavid for very long. But in terms of overall impact: a center who can control the game, score, make every pass count, calmly lead and lift everyone around him to the next level? That question doesn’t sound so strange. You can already see the outlines of a player who could develop into something closer to Crosby’s completeness than McDavid’s flash.
Celebrini hasn’t surpassed anyone yet, but the template he’s building will age beautifully in the NHL. The honest answer won’t be known for another five seasons or so. But the fact that I’m even bringing up this conversation before Christmas of his rookie season says something.
The Sharks may not just have a good player. They may have the center they rebuilt ten years ago.
Related: Celebrini & Bedard vs. McDavid & MacKinnon: Who’s Better?
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