The 20-year-old Vancouver-born hockey phenom—a center on the San Jose Sharks—is standing in the players’ lounge of Tech CU Arena, the complex where the team trains. He has been in the building for almost 10 hours; morning practice, lunch, and then a photo shoot for this story. Now, he’s changed back into a pair of Lululemon shorts, a stretchy hoodie, and off-white Reebok Club C 85s.
Celebrini was supposed to use said Land Rover to drive me to a Mexican restaurant in the nearby town of Los Gatos, where he and fellow player Will Smith, a Sharks forward and his best friend on the team, are sharing a house this season. My roommate took it.” Celebrini is an undeniable hockey prodigy with superlative potential. He is the second-highest-paid NHL athlete in history by average annual value, with a new five-year contract priced at $18.8 million per season.
And he’s quickly become the ultra-marketable face of his sport’s next wave. (Literally. He’s on the cover of the latest edition of the video game EA Sports NHL 27.) In effect: He’s the promised prince of a multibillion dollar, 108-year-old sporting tradition. But in this moment, as we hustle out of the arena to catch an Uber, he’s just a young guy at the end of a long day.
Celebrini is “starving,” he’s thumbing through his phone, and he’s breezy enough to have lent his roommate his car when he actually really needed it himself. Promptly, though, his star power comes back into focus: At the exit, a middle-aged guy asks for a selfie. Celebrini obliges politely, but his soft-spoken “Yeah, sure” and half-smile make me think he’s gone through this ritual a couple thousand times already.
Celebrini is one of the best young players to arrive in years. Pundits speak of a “Macklin magic” with a palpable awe; he has an extraordinary understanding of hockey and can be intense about the sport. Yet Celebrini insists he’s “pretty chill” away from the ice and seeks the basic freedom most 20-year-olds are allowed: nothing too high-stakes, nothing too public, and nothing too serious.
Earlier at lunch, he bantered with teammates about his fantasy football picks and a recent Pebble Beach golf trip. And online, he has a reputation as a jokester, especially when Smith is around. Celebrini also possesses heartthrob looks: a strong, square jawline, striking honey-olive eyes, and auburn hair that grows past his ears, which he often pushes back with both hands during press conferences and as we chat.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
