Does Macklin Celebrini's record-setting game give him an edge in Calder Trophy race?

By / / Sports / 5 minutes of reading


After finishing his only season at Boston University, Macklin Celebrini was hyping Terriers teammate Lane Hutson in July.

“I haven’t played with someone like him,” Celebrini said on the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast. “The way he sees the ice and the plays that he makes — the head fakes. And you don’t think you’ll fall for them. You’re like, ‘Nah, I won’t fall for them.’ Until you fall for them. And you’re like, ‘Damn, I knew it.’ Like everyone else.

“Even in practice, there were times when I was just like, ‘I can’t come out at this guy,’ watching him doing what he did. But that’s just the kind of player he is. He’s a special player. I’m a little biased, but I feel like he’ll be a great player in the NHL.”

These weren’t just two ordinary college players, of course. Both were among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s top men’s player, with Celebrini becoming the fourth freshman to capture the honor as the top player in NCAA hockey and then going to the San Jose Sharks with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft in June.

Immediately after the Terriers lost in the 2024 national semifinals to Denver, meanwhile, Hutson signed with the Montreal Canadiens, making his greatly anticipated NHL debut three days later.

With equally immense fanfare in San Jose, Celebrini would play his first NHL game in October.

Hutson is having a phenomenal season — one that could win him the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Celebrini recently reflected on his comments last summer on Hutson.

“I don’t think I held back in how highly I thought of him and what I thought he could do this year,” he told The Athletic. “You’ve just got to watch him. He’s such a good puck mover. So smart. He’s competitive. He works so hard. There’s no one on the ice who wants to make a difference more than him.”

Both players have become prominent in a four-horse race for the Calder Trophy.

With 26 victories, a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average in 50 starts, Dustin Wolf has lifted the hard-working Calgary Flames into postseason contention.

Matvei Michkov is headed for a 60-point season as one of the Philadelphia Flyers’ top offensive players and could be a star winger in the league sooner than later.

Hutson is having a historic season, driving the Canadiens to a playoff berth. With 64 points that lead all first-year players, the 21-year-old Michigan native has more points in his rookie season than Nicklas Lidstrom (60), Quinn Hughes (53) and Cale Makar (50). His next point will move him past Chris Chelios for the most points by a rookie Canadiens defenseman. Another point will put him above Ray Bourque, who won the Calder Trophy.

In a six-game winning streak that has allowed Montreal to help pursue the second wild-card berth, Hutson has eight points. And there was this moment last week against Philadelphia.

It’s hard to top all that.

But while the Sharks could again be saddled with the NHL’s worst record, Celebrini is finishing his impactful first season with a flourish.

In a rollercoaster 8-7 overtime victory by the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Wednesday, Celebrini scored his first career hat trick and had his fifth point of the night on a secondary assist on Will Smith’s tying score with 50.4 seconds left in regulation to cap a three-goal rally. (Smith also wasn’t too shabby with his first four-point night to up his point total to 44, now fourth among rookies.)

All three of Celebrini’s goals came against Marc-Andre Fleury, who is second in all-time wins behind Martin Brodeur. Fleury got his 574th win despite allowing seven goals on 31 shots.

“It’s super cool,” Celebrini told the media. “Grew up watching him (Fleury) — kind of watching him with the Penguins and his run with Vegas and stuff. Just super cool experience.”

But the big night for Celebrini carried some history.

He became the fifth Sharks rookie to record a hat trick and the first to have a five-point game. With 62 points, the 18-year-old has passed Pat Falloon for the most points by a Sharks rookie. He’s the first rookie to score three goals since Logan Cooley did it for Arizona on March 28, 2024, against Nashville. Celebrini is the first No. 1 overall pick to get a hat trick as a rookie since Auston Matthews did it in his very first game for Toronto.

And the explosion came after Celebrini had gone nine games without a goal — his longest drought of the season. Celebrini is now tied with Michkov for the rookie goal lead with 24 and sits two points behind Hutson for the scoring edge.

Is that enough to unseat Hutson as the Calder favorite? Probably not. But there might not be a better 18-year-old hockey player on the planet right now, and he gave a loud reminder Wednesday why he’s always been in the trophy conversation.

(Photo of Macklin Celebrini: Bailey Hillesheim / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)





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