Macklin Celebrini Continues Debut Goal Streak in Canada's Olympics Opener vs. Czechia

By scoring a goal in Canada's 2026 Olympic hockey opener against Czechia, star forward Macklin Celebrini continued a unique trend.

Per the NHL's official X account, Celebrini has now scored a goal in his first game at the USHL, NCAA, NHL, World Junior Championship, NHL and Olympic levels:

The 19-year-old San Jose Sharks sensation opened the scoring for Canada in its 5-0 win over Czechia on Thursday, and he finished the game with two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating.

Celebrini has excelled at every level, and he has already proven his worth as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft.

As a rookie, Celebrini recorded 25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points in 70 games, and while that wasn't enough to beat out Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson for the Calder Trophy, he has taken his game to the next level this season.

Through 55 games with the Sharks, Celebrini has racked up 28 goals and 53 goals for 81 points, placing him fourth in the NHL in scoring behind only his Team Canada teammates in the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.

While it is uncommon for players of Celebrini's age and experience level to represent Canada in the Olympics when NHL players are involved, he has been too good to ignore.

It didn't take Celebrini long to prove that he belongs on the world stage in a best-on-best tournament, as he tipped a shot by Avs superstar defenseman Cale Makar past Czech goaltender Lukáš Dostál of the Anaheim Ducks to give Canada the lead.

The Canadians ended up pulling away and winning easily, but Celebrini's goal was an important one since the first period was evenly matched.

His goal came with 5.7 seconds remaining in the first period, giving Canada a ton of momentum, which it parlayed into two goals each in the second and third periods.

Celebrini and Canada will look to improve to 2-0 in group play on Friday when they take on Switzerland at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.