Macklin Celebrini should soak up the Olympic experience

At just 19 years of age, Macklin Celebrini will be the youngest player on the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey roster in the NHL era. The San Jose Sharks’ center has 28 goals and 53 assists for 81 points in just 55 games in 2025-26, which puts him fourth in the NHL in both assists and points.

There’s no doubt both Celebrini and Canada’s No. 1 priority is to win a gold medal, but considering the B.C. native isn’t even in his 20s, some want the young forward to soak up the experience.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk is joined by former NHL forward Rick Nash for an in-depth discussion on the sport, his time with Hockey Canada program and what advice he would give Celebrini as we prepare for the Olympics.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You had the opportunity to play as a 21-year-old with the Canadian Olympic men’s team in 2006. Macklin Celebrini is going as a 19-year-old to these Olympic Games. I would ask to put yourself in his shoes … what advice would you have for someone going over at such a young age?

Rick Nash: Obviously he’s an incredible player. If I had to give myself advice, going back to Torino 2006, it would be to try and slow things down. Not just the hockey and being around the arena, I mean being around the village.

You get to be around all these world-class athletes who do everything they can to have a shot at the Olympics. Some of my fondest memories was sitting in the cafeteria dining hall and seeing a speed skater or bobsledder or whatever it might be, chatting with them or going to the common areas that weren’t Hockey Canada, but the Canadian Olympic Committee had.

You start seeing guys from other countries and start switching winter coats or t-shirts or hats, and I wish I would have took that in a little more, that side of it, because that’s really what’s special about being an Olympian: it’s not just hockey, it’s a bunch of different winter sports.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…