Sharks unsurprised by Macklin Celebrini’s Olympic star turn: ‘He’s the best player in the world’

All the 19-year-old Celebrini has done so far is become the event’s second-leading scorer, right behind linemate Connor McDavid, while helping a stacked Canadian team advance to Friday’s semifinals.

None of which surprises his Sharks teammates.

“He’s the best player in the world, and he’s proving it,” Sharks winger Ryan Reaves said of Celebrini. “That’s what the best players do.”

Celebrini, in the biggest game of his life to this point, had three points — including the primary assist on Mitch Marner’s overtime winner — as Canada earned a thrilling 4-3 quarterfinal win over Czechia on Wednesday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

In the 3-on-3 overtime, Celebrini sent a drop pass to Marner, who danced through three Czechia defenders — including former Sharks defenseman Radim Simek — before his backhand shot beat goalie Lukas Dostal at the 1:22 mark of the 10-minute extra session.

Marner’s goal sent his teammates streaming onto the ice in celebration, and the Canadians into the semifinals against Finland, which came back to beat Switzerland and Sharks forward Philipp Kurashev 3-2 in overtime. Kurashev had an assist in the loss.

Sharks winger Pavol Regenda is in the other semifinal after scoring twice to help Slovakia beat Germany 6-2. Slovakia will play the United States, which beat Sweden 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Celebrini and Slovakia will either play for gold on Sunday or for bronze on Saturday.

“Obviously, I’m rooting for Canada as a Canadian, so it’s good to see Celebrini do well,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “Not only is he doing well, but he’s one of the best players in the tournament.

“Not just him, it’s other guys, too, throughout our lineup. It’s good for us as a team, and hopefully a good confidence builder for guys coming back here.”

Despite this being just his second NHL season, Celebrini has become an integral part of Canada’s loaded roster. He entered the Olympics as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer with 81 points in 55 games, and through the preliminary round and quarterfinals, has five goals and four assists.

While Celebrini’s sterling play so far has perhaps opened some eyes across North America and the world, it’s not a revelation to anyone in San Jose.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Sharks winger Collin Graf said. “We see it maybe a little more than other people, just because we see it in practice and in every game. But I don’t think anyone in this room was surprised.”

Celebrini has been alongside McDavid – a three-time Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s MVP – from the start of the tournament last week. Those two have been joined at times by Nathan MacKinnon, putting three of the NHL’s top four scorers on one line.

Celebrini scored at the 3:05 mark of the first period off an assist from McDavid, and the pair then assisted on MacKinnon’s power-play goal that tied the game 2-2 at the 12:16 mark of the second period.

Celebrini now has a goal in every game he’s played in Milan and is two points back of McDavid for the overall scoring lead.

“I thought McDavid was playing with (Celebrini), to be honest,” Reaves said with a smile when asked about Celebrini playing with McDavid and MacKinnon. “But that line is out of control. That’s got to be, if not the best, one of the best lines ever created in Olympic history or hockey history, to be honest. It’s fun to watch those guys.”

Celebrini’s nine points for the tournament moved him past Evgeni Malkin for the most points by a teenager in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players. Malkin, the longtime Pittsburgh Penguins star, had six points in seven games for Russia during the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.

Celebrini also became the fourth player to record a goal in four consecutive Olympic games featuring NHL players, joining Marian Hossa (2006 with Slovakia), former Shark Teemu Selanne (2006 with Finland), and Mats Sundin (2002 with Sweden).

“He’s just an ultra-competitor, a gamer,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini. “It doesn’t seem like he gets too overwhelmed by moments, and we’re seeing that right now.”