Macklin Celebrini was named captain of the San Jose Sharks on Friday, becoming the youngest player ever to fill that role for the team at the age of 20.
Celebrini takes over the spot that had been vacant since Logan Couture went down with a career-ending injury, becoming the 11th full-time captain in the Sharks’ 34-year history.
Couture was given that role for the 2019-20 season and held it through the 2024-25 campaign, even though he didn’t play a single game that year because of a chronic injury to his groin and pelvic area that ended his career.
Celebrini, from North Vancouver, B.C., was one of five players who rotated as alternate captains last season but now has the role for the near future. He is the youngest player to fill the leadership role, with Patrick Marleau previously held that mark when he was named captain at age 24 in 2004. He is also the youngest current captain in the NHL, edging out 21-year-old Connor Bedard, who was named captain in Chicago earlier this month.
Bedard, 21, named second youngest NHL captain in Chicago franchise history
Celebrini has become the face of the franchise since being drafted first overall in 2024 and quickly developing into one of the game’s biggest stars. He signed a five-year, $94-million US extension this summer and is under contract through the 2031-32 season.
Sharks make Macklin Celebrini NHL’s highest-paid player with extension
Celebrini joins elite company with 30 points in first 20 games of a season
Despite Celebrini’s exploits, the Sharks still missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. They improved by 34 points for the 10th best single-season jump in the last 30 years but landed four points out of the playoffs.
Celebrini is part of a strong young core in San Jose alongside fellow promising players like Michael Misa, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov and Sam Dickinson.
The Sharks added even more young talent this off-season with three first-round picks headlined by Swedish left-winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall. They also added North Dakota defenceman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 9 and WHL Vancouver play-making defenceman Ryan Lin at No. 21.
General manager Mike Grier also brought in veteran reinforcements at the start of the off-season, trading for defenceman Darnell Nurse and signing defenceman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment.
