Historic Hat Tricks and a Night of Teen Sensations
Sharks vs. Kings — Cheechoo Hat trick! © Moose477 / Flickr
Written by Gina Anton
SAN JOSE - At just 19, Macklin Celebrini isn’t merely playing in the NHL but creating history as he does it. His recent performance on Tuesday night. He delivered a dramatic game-winner goal in overtime, and also secured milestones that place him among the greatest teenage talents the league has ever seen.
In Tuesday’s 3–2 comeback win over the Utah Mammoth, Celebrini completed his hat trick with an overtime power-play goal, giving San Jose the victory and punctuating a performance defined by composure and skill.
That goal pushed him to 30 points in his team’s first 20 games of the season which is a mark only a handful of teenage players in NHL history have ever reached signaling generational potential.
Those names are nothing short of iconic: Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Mario Lemieux.
Celebrini, for his part, remains grounded. When asked about the comparisons to Gretzky or Crosby, he brushed them off.
What makes Celebrini’s rise so compelling isn’t just the volume of points or highlight goals but it’s how he produces them in the moments that matter. Scoring two early and delivering the final one in overtime underscores a maturity and composure well beyond his age. His teammates have taken note of this. Veteran defender Vincent Desharnais called him “special,” praising not only his skill but his work ethic and character.
For San Jose, Celebrini’s emergence couldn’t come at a better time for the team. He’s already carrying the offense and showing he can close out games even being relatively new to the team.
As if completing a hat trick in overtime weren’t enough, Celebrini’s feat came on the same night as another teenager in the league. Connor Bedard. A player who scored his own hat trick in Chicago.
A pair of 20 and under players pulling off hat tricks on the same night is extremely uncommon in modern NHL history, and it hasn’t happened since February 19, 1944, when Bud Poile and Jack Hamilton did it for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The fact that this moment which was more than 80 years in the making has finally returned is a powerful reminder. The league’s future is being built right now on fresh talent.
