Macklin Celebrini reveals hilarious first interaction with idol Sidney Crosby at IIHF Worlds

Meeting your childhood idol can be a nerve-wracking experience, even for San Jose Sharks rookie sensation Macklin Celebrini. A native of Vancouver, Celebrini is skating for Canada in his first IIHF World Championship, and he just so happens to be skating alongside Nova Scotia native and NHL legend Sidney Crosby.

The 2025 IIHF World Championship marks Crosby’s ninth time skating for Team Canada on the international stage and his third time representing his country at the World Championship (2006 and 2015). The captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby, also captained Canada to gold at the 2015 World Championship and to a 10-0 undefeated record, and he is also the captain of this year’s squad.

On Tuesday, B/R Open Ice posted on X (formerly Twitter) that when Crosby and Celebrini arrived at the tournament in Sweden and met, the 18-year-old Celebrini referred to the 37-year-old NHL veteran as “Mr. Crosby,” and the captain quickly and hilariously corrected him.

“At first, I called him Mr. Crosby, but he immediately corrected me that he was Sid,” Celebrini said, according to the post.

Since the fun first impression, the two have produced solid offense for Canada through the tourney. “Sid” is tied for sixth in the tournament with 11 points (four goals, seven assists), and Celebrini has six points (three goals, three assists), both through seven games.

Crosby also assisted with Celebrini's goal in Canada's 5-3 win over Sweden on Tuesday.

After the tournament's preliminary round, Canada leads the Group A division with 19 points (6-0-1-0) in seven games. In comparison, the United States is second in the Group B division with 17 points (5-1-0-1), trailing Switzerland with 19 points (6-0-1-0).

Along with sharing the same nationality, Crosby and Celebrini also have a record-breaking stat in common. They each hold their franchise’s record for the most points recorded by a rookie in a single season, respectively. In “Sid the Kid’s” 2005-06 rookie campaign, he notched 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists), breaking Pittsburgh’s franchise record at 18 years old.

Twenty years later, Celebrini made history with the Sharks and set the club’s rookie points record with 63 (25 goals, 38 assists) in 2024-25.

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Macklin Celebrini is a Calder Trophy finalist

San Jose's first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, Macklin Celebrini, was named a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy after his 63 points led all Sharks skaters and ranked third among all rookies in the league.

According to NHLRecords.com, the Calder Trophy is awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition.”

The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes on the winner.

Goaltender Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson are the two other finalists nominated for the award, which will be presented in the summer.