- Macklin Celebrini voted the 2025-26 IIHF Male Player of the Year by a panel of about 200 media members
- The Sharks center beat out Connor Hellebuyck, Sebastian Aho and Connor McDavid for the honor
- Read below for his Olympic run, his record-setting Sharks season and the full vote breakdown
Macklin Celebrini just added another trophy to a growing pile.
The San Jose Sharks center was voted the IIHF’s Male Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season, finishing first among a panel of roughly 200 media members. He is 20 years old.
Celebrini earned it with a February to remember. He led the 2026 Winter Olympics with five goals and finished second in scoring with 10 points in six games, carrying Canada to a silver medal and landing on the tournament’s All-Star Team.
He wasn’t done there. Celebrini captained Canada at the World Championships in May and racked up 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 10 games, second among all scorers, and the IIHF named him the best forward of the tournament.
The award caps a season where he rewrote San Jose’s record book. Celebrini set a Sharks single-season record with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games, passing Joe Thornton and finishing fourth in NHL scoring. He was a Ted Lindsay Award finalist as the players’ pick for MVP.
Watch the night he broke Thornton’s record:
The field behind him was stacked. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck finished second after backstopping Team USA to Olympic gold with a 41-save night in a 3-2 overtime win over Canada. Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho came third, then went on to win the Stanley Cup. McDavid, who led all Olympic scorers with 13 points, landed fourth.
San Jose has bigger plans for its franchise player. The Sharks are already working on an extension for Celebrini that could top Leo Carlsson’s $18 million cap hit, and a season like this one only pushes that number higher.
