Macklin Celebrini will join a distinguished list of former San Jose Sharks when he steps onto the ice on Sunday as Canada squares off against the United States for the Olympic gold medal.
MILAN — San Jose Sharks players have stood on this stage before.
Joe Thornton had his chances. So did Owen Nolan. Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each reached the Olympic spotlight with gold within reach. Patrick Marleau made two runs at it.
Now it’s Macklin Celebrini’s turn.
Celebrini and the Canada men's national ice hockey team will meet the United States men's national ice hockey team for Olympic gold Sunday morning at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Canada advanced to the final with a tense 3–2 semifinal win over Finland, while the Americans surged past Slovakia 6-2. Sharks winger Pavol Regenda recorded the second and final goal for the Slovaks.
The matchup renews one of hockey’s fiercest rivalries. It also mirrors last year’s thrilling 4 Nations Face-Off final, when Canada edged the United States 3–2 on Connor McDavid’s overtime winner.
History only heightens the stakes. Sunday marks the third Olympic gold-medal meeting between the North American powers, with Canada winning both previous showdowns — at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Since NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998, at least one Sharks player has appeared in four of the six gold-medal games. Six have captured gold while wearing teal. If Canada wins again, Celebrini — just 19 — would become the youngest member of that exclusive group, adding another chapter to the franchise’s Olympic legacy.
Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper praised the young Celebrini following Friday's game.
"He's generational that kid," the two-time Stanley Cup champion coach stated. "And he plays it the right way. For somebody that young to understand where to be and he's pulled the risk out of his game that he had in the first game of the tournament."
When asked by reporter Jackie Redmond to clarify his remarks, Cooper elaborated.
"Early on, he would try to make something out of nothing, which superstar players can do. In this tournament he can't (do that)," he explained. "Because the best players in the world all check, and for him to figure that out so early and now doing the things he's doing...I'm surprised I didn't play him more."
Celebrini carried a significant workload down the stretch, skating 18:02 over the final 40 minutes as Canada fought back in the semifinal.
The 19-year-old finished with a team-high 25:53 of total ice time and registered eight shots on goal, highlighting the level of trust placed in him.
The United States and Canada will face off for gold on Sunday, Feb. 22, with puck drop scheduled for 8:10 a.m. ET. Slovakia and Finland will meet in the bronze-medal game Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET.
