‘You got the best PKers in Canada behind you’: Doughty reassures Celebrini after penalty

If you thought Macklin Celebrini was nervous about his play at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, you’d be correct.

It’s not often Canada is willing to jump the gun on a player as young as Celebrini. Not even Sidney Crosby was named to the 2006 team as an 18 year old in his rookie season. In fact, Celebrini’s the youngest player to ever suit up for Canada at the Olympics in a best-on-best tournament at 19.

Celebrini playing in his first Olympic tournament and at such a young age is a lot of pressure for him. So when he was called for tripping with 10 minutes to go in Canada’s 5-1 win over Switzerland, he was extremely dejected, and nervous that he let the team down, even if they were already up 4-1. But Drew Doughty reassured the San Jose Sharks superstar with a quick speech that could go down as iconic depending on the result of the tournament.

“He told me he was shitting his pants when he went in the box,” Doughty told reporters after the game. “I was like, ‘Buddy, what do you got to worry about? You got the best PKers in Canada behind you.'”

While “Canada’s best PKers” had allowed a power play goal earlier in the game, they did not let Celebrini down, as they killed his penalty with ease. Celebrini appeared to be motivated by the kill as well, as he went out and assisted on a goal just 16 seconds after his penalty was killed to give Canada the decisive 5-1 lead.

That capped off another excellent performance from Celebrini in the tournament, as he also scored earlier in the game to give Canada back their two-goal advantage. After two games, he’s tied for fourth in scoring with two goals and one assist, which is also tied for third among Canadians. His two goals are also tied with eight other players for the lead in the tournament thus far.

Celebrini’s performance has added to a spectacular season with the Sharks, which has already seen him surpass his rookie totals with 28 goals and 53 assists for 81 points in 55 games, and has put him in the conversation for the Hart Trophy with San Jose in the running for a playoff spot.

Canada’s win over Switzerland clinched them the top spot in Group A with a 2-0-0-0 record and a +9 goal differential. They’ll look to go undefeated in the tournament and secure a top seeding for the playoffs when they complete the preliminary round against France on Sunday at 10:40 a.m. ET.