MINNEAPOLIS — Macklin Celebrini is going to the Olympics.
The 19-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., was among 19 players named to Canada’s finalized 25-man roster Wednesday ahead of the NHL’s return to the Games.
Celebrini, who sits third in league scoring behind superstar countrymen Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, is one of six additions to the group that won the 4 Nations Face-Off last February.
General manager Doug Armstrong said at a press conference unveiling the team it was clear the San Jose Sharks centre deserved to make the cut in early December.
“He’s really taken off,” said Armstrong, whose day job is running the St. Louis Blues. “His resume is shorter, but is extremely filled out for his age.”
Celebrini is set to become just the third teenager to play for Canada at a best-on-best tournament, joining Steve Yzerman (1984 Canada Cup) and Eric Lindros (1991 Canada Cup).
McDavid endorsed Celebrini’s selection.
“He’s had a great year, very deserving. Had a great year last year, played at the world championships,” the Edmonton Oilers captain said. “I have full faith in the guys picking the team. If they say he deserves to be there, he deserves to be there.”
The other newcomers up front are Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, Bo Horvat of the New York Islanders and Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals.
Canada, which plays its first game at the Olympics on Feb. 12 against Czechia, is keeping its 4 Nations defence corps intact, but is switching out two of the three goaltenders, with Washington’s Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings joining Jordan Binnington of the Blues. They replace Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal’s Sam Montembeault.
Binnington, who entered Wednesday’s action ranked 30th in the NHL with an .870 save percentage among netminders with at least 20 games played, has struggled this season, but won Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 2019 and stepped up at 4 Nations.
Kuemper (.917) and Thompson (.915) are second and fourth in save percentage, respectively.
“His name never came up as a question mark,” Armstrong said of Binnington. “What everyone saw from him at the 4 Nations cemented his legacy for this tournament, and what I’ve seen over his career made it easy for me to go that direction.”
The 4 Nations forwards not making the Canadian cut for the Milan Cortina Olympics are Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers, Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers and Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Armstrong, who said the management group narrowed its list down to 12 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders about a month ago, added there were plenty of pluses and one glaring minus when picking the team.
“The advantages start with and then with how great the players are, how many there are, how hard they compete, and more importantly, how badly they want to make this team,” he said in his opening remarks. “The one disadvantage for management — and management alone — is taking that wide group of players, and narrowing it down to 25.”
McDavid, MacKinnon, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Colorado defenceman Cale Makar, Tampa Bay Lightning centre Brayden Point and Florida winger Sam Reinhart were previously named to the roster.
They will be joined by returning forwards Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay), Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay), Brad Marchand (Florida), Mitch Marner (Vegas) and Mark Stone (Vegas).
The defence led by Makar will consist of Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), Thomas Harley (Dallas), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia), Shea Theodore (Vegas) and Devon Toews (Colorado).
“Everyone has their own idea of what the team’s going to look like, the names they would have on it, names they wouldn’t. The team could be a million different things,” said McDavid.
The 38-year-old Crosby and 36-year-old Doughty are the only players with past Olympic experience at both the 2010 and 2014 Games.
Armstrong said the conversation was “R-rated” when he gave Doughty the news.
“Drew’s an unbelievable competitor,” Armstrong said. “His passion, he wears it on his sleeve, and that’s infectious to everybody. ”
Some of the notable omissions include Chicago centre Connor Bedard, who was tied for third in scoring before an upper-body injury Dec. 12, and Winnipeg counterpart Mark Scheifele. Washington defenceman Jacob Chychrun and Islanders rookie blueliner Matthew Schaefer were also left out.
Armstrong said Bedard’s name was still in the mix over the last number of days.
“We could have named him,” Armstrong said. “But I think the reality is, there’s so many good players, and we just have difficult decisions to make.”
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper will be back behind the bench after guiding Canada to a thrilling victory over the United States in the 4 Nations final.
Armstrong said Cooper had plenty of input rounding out the roster’s final spots.
“We’ve really worked hand-in-hand,” Armstrong said. “He and his coaching staff have been invaluable in telling us what they needed, the type of players they needed, what areas of concern we had.
“It always comes down to the last couple of players.”
The NHL went to five straight Olympics from 1998 through 2014 before skipping the 2018 Games. COVID-19 then squashed plans in 2022, but hockey’s best are finally set to return following a 12-year absence.
Canada won gold in Salt Lake in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010 with its NHLers before climbing the podium a third time four years later in Sochi, Russia.
Armstrong will now hand the keys to Cooper.
“There’s so many worthy players here,” said the GM. “Not one player played their way off of this team — 25 guys played their way on.”
– With a file from John Korobanik in Edmonton.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
