Sharks' Celebrini commits to playing for Canada at world championships
Published
San Jose Sharks rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini has committed to playing for Canada Thursday at the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championships in May.
Celebrini, the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, has previously represented his country at the 2024 World Juniors, recording four goals and four assists for eight points in five games before a stunning loss to Czechia in the quarterfinal resulted in a fifth-place finish for Canada.
This season, the 18-year-old has scored the most goals among all first-year players with 25, and is trailing Montreal Canadiens' rookie sensation Lane Hutson by two in the rookie points race.
A native of North Vancouver, Celebrini played one season of NCAA Division I hockey with Boston University, scoring 32 goals and 64 points in just 38 games in 2023-24.
After finishing first in Group A last season with a record of 5-2-0-0, Canada fell to Switzerland in the semifinal by way of the shootout before falling again to Sweden in the third place game.
Notable names from last year's roster includes John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, and 2023 first overall pick and reigning Calder Memorial trophy winner Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Canada has won gold at the men's worlds on 28 different occasions, the most of any other country to compete in the tournament. Their last victory came in 2023 after the Canadians dispatched the Germans 5-2 in the gold medal game.
This year's IIHF World Championships will take place from May 9-25, and is being co-hosted by Sweden and Denmark.