Sheng Peng
It’s Mack-palooza today!
EA Sports announced Macklin Celebrini as their NHL 27 cover athlete on Tuesday, and with that, multiple interviews with the San Jose Sharks superstar were released simultaneously.
Celebrini addressed his contract extension, his thoughts on Ivar Stenberg, and more.
“You want to put your team in the best spot possible where you give a team the ability to make moves necessary to win,” Celebrini told ESPN, when asked about how players that he’s idolized like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon took less money to give their teams more cap space to improve their respective teams.
Celebrini, of course, is well aware of how Leo Carlsson’s $18 million AAV raises earning potential around the league.
“That’s going to start being the new normal in the NHL, those kinds of numbers with the cap going up and all that stuff,” Celebrini said. “So I think obviously it was really good for him to get that number and it’s also good for everyone else.”
So don’t expect a massive hometown discount from Celebrini? Nor should you.
Celebrini also shared his thoughts with ESPN about the William Eklund trade and LeBron James potentially signing with the Golden State Warriors.
Celebrini is excited to play with San Jose Sharks’ No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg, according to Bleacher Report: “I’m not the one making the lines, but he’s a heck of a player, and playing against him at Worlds you could see all the skill he had.”
Celebrini also discussed his chemistry with Will Smith and his experience captaining Canada at the World Championships with B/R.
All this is in line with higher expectations for the San Jose Sharks this coming season, with over $100 million committed to veterans Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, and Mason Marchment two weeks ago.
“It’s safe to say making the playoffs as a team, that shouldn’t be out of the question,” Celebrini told Heavy.com. “We’ve made the right moves, and we have the right group to make a run, and it’s going to be my first playoff push, which I’m really excited for.”
Celebrini also spoke with Heavy about the World Cup and watching Luka Modric as a kid.
Finally, in a more light-hearted chat with Bardown’s Jesse Pollock, Celebrini shared that he’s a big Drake fan, and that he listens to Drake with Barclay Goodrow. He also loves country music and is really getting into golf.