Sidney Crosby, Macklin Celebrini are a match made in hockey heaven

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis(sellishockey)
May 21, 2025, 10:42 EDT
Sidney Crosby, Macklin Celebrini are a match made in hockey heaven

When Canada’s 2025 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship roster was officially announced, everyone looked to two names in particular: Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

The two Timbit Superstars were back together for just the third international tournament in their careers. The lack of best-on-best hockey had prevented the two icons from playing together at a high level, with the first time coming in 2015. They reunited in 2025 at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and it paid off as MacKinnon won tournament MVP and Canada won gold.

But they’ve only played on the power play together at the World Championship, with Canada finishing the round-robin with a 6-0-1 record to finish first in Group A. Instead, it’s Crosby and Macklin Celebrini who have made magic together instead.

Sure, Mackinnon and Crosby would be able to overwhelm just about anyone. But in an effort to spread out the wealth, splitting them made sense – and the results have been excellent. Celebrini, though, has been the ultimate counterpart for the Pittsburgh Penguins legend.

Crosby is considered by most to be one of the smartest players the NHL has ever seen. His hockey IQ is off the charts, allowing him to make some of the most effective plays you’ll find. He’s never really in the Art Ross or Rocket Richard race anymore, but so much about his game away from the puck makes him a truly dominant force. He’s quick, attacks in his own zone and forces you to make low percentage plays more often than not.

And while Crosby can play with just about anyone, few have seemed to match the pure intellect like Celebrini does. When the San Jose Sharks took him first overall in 2024, scouts lauded him for his incredible hockey sense and his ability to beat players with high-end moves based on his play reads, more than just pure skill. Getting compared to one of the greatest to ever do it is high praise – but it was understandable, too.

Crosby finished the preliminary round with 11 points, while Celebrini – who just completed his NHL rookie season – had six. Sure, they weren’t the toughest competition every night, but they were rarely not one of Canada’s most dangerous duos. You saw it on the bench – they were always talking. Celebrini was clearly taking it all in, trying to learn everything he possibly could.

Seriously. Watch the camera sometimes. You can see him trying to copy everything Crosby does. It’s hilarious – and something every young player should be doing.

This play below, in particular, was special. The Canadians had some great puck movement against Slovakia, making it look like it was a power play when it was just regular five-aside action. Celebrini could have easily tried to get a shot off in front of the net. But instead, he made a no-look pass to Crosby near the side of the net and he made no mistake.

Ask any scout. That was a high-end play that could only be made by high-end players.

Celebrini is coming off an electric rookie season with 25 goals and 68 points in 70 games. It might not be enough for him to win the Calder Trophy, but it’s still one of the most impressive campaigns we’ve seen from a rookie forward in recent years. So it’s not surprise that he’s performing internationally, with his numbers at just about every tournament being spectacular. Heck, he even had four points in a pre-tournament game this year. Sure, it came against Hungary, but Canada was still trying to figure out their lines and Celebrini looked a step above the rest.

The best players are the smartest players. Crosby has built an unbelievable career of scanning the ice but giving opponents little indication of what he’s going to do. It even looks like Crosby’s own linemates aren’t sure about what type of passes he’ll make at any given time. But Crosby can pull magic out of his hat because he has the pure skill to get the puck where it needs to be, not where he wants it to be. Celebrini is as close to matching that in this generation as any player right now.

Watching them play together is like a passing of the guard. And if you’re watching it, you know it’s special. But it also might be a one-off unless Celebrini is named to Canada’s Olympic team in 2026. Crosby will be 38 when the tournament heads to Italy, a whole 19 years older than Celebrini. Think about that for a sec: remember when Hockey Canada was criticized for leaving a rookie Crosby off the 2006 Olympic team? Celebrini wasn’t born for another four months. They’re at completely different ends of their career, and there’s a real possibility we don’t see them together again.

But with the way Celebrini played on a poor Sharks team this past year, you definitely can not keep him off the radar. Having a player with his size, skill and hockey sense on the fourth line would be an absolute lineup nightmare. Maybe, we’d actually get a full tournament of Celebrini, Crosby and MacKinnon like we see on the power play from time to time in Sweden.

You know the phrase “Right place, right time?” That seems to be a common occurrence when either of them are distributing the puck. But that’s because their brains are so in sync – they think the same way. This might be the one time we see them get to dominate together, but it’s damn entertaining. It’s a testament to both their skillsets, regardless of age and generation.

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