Macklin Celebrini’s first big road trip of the 2025-26 season? Yeah, it went pretty well.

You know, “pretty well” in the same way a Powerball winner might call his payday “decent.”

The kid scored a hat-trick at Madison Square Garden — part of a five point night — and then dropped an incredible overtime game-winner in an insane game against the Wild Sunday night. The Sharks picked up two wins and he scored 10 points in four contests.

Good stuff. But that’s not the story.

No, the story is much, much bigger than that:

Celebrini went on the road and planted a flag.

He’s real. He’s spectacular. And he’s already better than nearly anyone you have on your team and he’s just getting started.

The kid turned 19 years old this past summer. He should be trying to sneak a keg into a basement right now.

Instead, he’s ascended to NHL superstar status, and he has the talent to go even higher than that.

“So what?” you might ask. “Wasn’t he the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft?”

Macklin Celebrini #71 of the San Jose Sharks reacts after a goal scored by teammate Adam Gaudette #81 (not pictured) during the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) 

Indeed he was.

And because of that, stardom was expected. But it wasn’t guaranteed.

And frankly, it wasn’t expected to arrive this early.

Celebrini hasn’t even played a full NHL season’s worth of games in his career — Sunday was regular-season game No. 79 for him in a Sharks uniform. And yet here we are: He’s third in the league in points with 15 in nine games, and he’s the top-scoring Canadian national in this, an Olympic season.

He can make a strong case that he’s one of the NHL’s ten best players right now.

The craziest thing is that not an ounce of it is a fluke.

All those deep-cut stats Celebrini was great at that we cited last year — zone entries, puck battles, and loose-puck recoveries — they’re still happening. Now they’re just turning into goals for himself and his teammates.

And listen, hockey is a beautiful but complicated game whose tactics will perpetually be underrepresented in media, and this column is hardly the place to fix that problem. So let me put it simply:

The rest of the league can’t touch this guy.

He’s too fast, too strong, too skilled, and too slick.

He is a man amongst boys, except, well, he’s the boy and they’re supposed to be the men.

Celebrini is on pace for 136 points this season. The Sharks record is 114 by Joe Thornton in 2007. Will Celebrini hold this pace? Probably not. But maybe.

Because when you watch him play, you can’t help but think there is a ton of meat being left on the bone.

San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) signs autographs during a pregame ceremony before the San Jose Sharks’ home opener against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) 

What happens when this guy actually has a winning team around him?

We might find out in the not-too-distant future (which can’t come soon enough for Sharks fans.)

Because this kid isn’t just a franchise-changer, he has can be a league dominator.

Let’s quantify it: There are two players in the history of the NHL who, as teens, have more posted more points than Celebrini through nine games of a season: Bryan Trotter (18 in 1976) and Wayne Gretzky (16 in 1981.)

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Yes, that Wayne Gretzky. The Great One.

And remember, those guys played in an era where there were four goals per game.

So while the play of William Eklund (he’s ascended to an All-Star-caliber), Will Smith (a franchise-changing talent in his own right), Dmitry Orlov (has taken over as the leader of the blue line), and Yaroslav Askarov (his performance in Minnesota was No. 1 stuff, even if five goals crossed the line) all deserves praise, the truth is that it’s Celebrini who is pulling the Sharks into a state of relevance.

Celebrini’s breakout isn’t coming, it’s here. The Sharks matter once again. So enjoy the quiet anonymity of the next few weeks and, worst-case scenario, months.

Because things are about to get loud in the South Bay once again.

Very loud.