Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini will face off against each other for the first time this season when the San Jose Sharks visit Rogers Place to play the Edmonton Oilers in an all-Pacific Division clash on Thursday night.
In just over a week, the two superstars will team up at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan as they try to lead Team Canada to a gold medal. It's the first time NHL players will participate since 2014.
But first, the Hart Trophy front runners will look to bank two critical points in a crowded Western Conference playoff race — and McDavid realizes the challenge that Celebrini poses.
“He’s having a great year,” one of the league's best players said of another, per NHL.com's Derek Van Diest. “He’s a young guy that is fun to watch, exciting to watch. Obviously, they’re a team that’s feeling pretty good about themselves, they have a good thing going, a good vibe about them. It’s pretty impressive to see that whole team come together.”
McDavid added: “He seems to play a full, complete game. I think the biggest thing is, he battles hard, and you don’t see that every day in a 19- or 20-year-old. He’s obviously got a good grasp of this league right away and knows what it takes to be successful, and that’s a great thing at a young age.
“He’s driven, it seems like. You could tell even last year playing against him, he plays hard. He plays not a typical teenager game. He’s dug in on face-offs, wins puck battles and does all the little things a veteran does. It’s been impressive.”
Macklin Celebrini in full breakout mode in 2025-26
McDavid has been at the top of league statistics basically every year since he broke into the NHL a decade ago. And Celebrini seems to be on a similar trajectory; after chipping in 63 points in 70 games in his rookie year, he's blossoming into a true franchise cornerstone in 2025-26.
Through 51 games, the North Vancouver native has already amassed 27 goals and 78 points, good for fourth league-wide. He's still 14 points back of McDavid, whose 92 points are tops in the NHL.
But the skill is crystal clear with Celebrini, who has dragged the Sharks out of the rebuild and into playoff contention in the Western Conference after a couple of dark years in California.
If San Jose makes the playoffs — they're currently in a three-way tie for the final wildcard berth — Celebrini would have a great chance to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He's more than doubling his next closest teammate Will Smith, who is second on the team with 36 points.
As for McDavid, he continues to produce prolifically, and it wouldn't be surprising if he cracked the 100-point mark before the Olympic break. The Oilers are currently 27-19-8, good for second in the Pacific and five points ahead of the Sharks.
The divisional rivals each have four games before their respective breaks, beginning with Thursday's tilt at Rogers Place. Puck is set to drop on what should be a high-flying affair between McDavid's Oilers and Celebrini's Sharks just past 9:00 p.m. ET.
