SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sitting atop the SAP Center with a clear view of the most talked-about player in hockey, Hockey Canada senior vice president Scott Salmond smiled when asked about the national discourse surrounding the Olympic hockey roster.
“Everyone has an opinion about who we should add,” he said, beaming at how great it is that the country is so passionate about the Olympic team debate.
“But no one wants to talk about who they would cut from the lineup to make room.”
The point is that it is his problem, not ours.
As the debate intensifies ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Canada on New Year's Eve, the fate of the five rings is undecided. 71 is starting to feel sealed.
On Tuesday night, like so many others this season, he demonstrated why he deserves a spot.
One game after leading his team to a five-goal win, he put together his third career four-point game, which included his first of two spin-o-rama goals already in the 24-hour highlight cycle.
Collecting a pass at the top of the Flames' faceoff circle, without breaking stride, he spun back around Kevin Bahl and went solo at Dustin Wolf. His first shot was stopped by Wolf's stick before the rebound inadvertently bounced off the goalkeeper and into the net.
“I mean, he's incredible—it seems like every night he does something that makes you just go, 'Wow,'” said Barclay Goodrow, who scored two goals in a 6-3 win over Calgary.
“It's not surprising at this point… but it's still amazing. He proves every night why he's one of the best players in the league and we're all thrilled to have him on our team.”
If he's not the most exciting player in the game today, he's certainly getting close to the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, who happen to be the only men to score more points than him this year.
“He was fine,” coach Ryan Warsofsky shrugged with a laugh, pretending he could ever laugh at such a talented player.
“He's special, for sure. You know, it's just every time you think he might slow down and maybe hit a speed bump, he doesn't. He just keeps going. And you see he's back on his feet early tonight.”
His final attempt came on a night where he was playing with two new forwards, including Russian Igor Chernyshov, who was playing his first NHL game.
No matter, because his deft backhand strike that scored John Klingberg's first goal in the first minute set the tone for Celebrini's next show.
In a period where he made some great passes to create Grade A scoring chances, he punctuated the frame with another primary pass in the second second of Goodrow's period.
By finishing the night empty-handed, Celebrini's Sharks are in the playoffs, and he's the reason why.
But don't expect him to say that, because the humble 19-year-old from North Vancouver won't be contributing to the national pastime of inflating tires.
“I mean, it was just a reaction,” he said of his magical turn.
“I mean (Collin) Graf made a good play on the wall, intercepted it and then just found me in the middle and I reacted. But it was a little lucky, it came off my hip.”
As just the 10th teenager in NHL history to play three or more four-point games, trust me when I say this young man has made it in his own right.
“He was incredible, whether he scored or not,” said Tyler Toffolithe night he scored his 300 pointsth Career Objective.
“He definitely felt it. I think I literally said that to Rivo (Ryan Reeves) right before the first goal of the game, he felt it and made a great play with Klinger. He led the attack again and did a great job.”
While Team Canada will have no shortage of scorers, it is Celebrini's performance inside the 200-foot range that should make him a lock.
“I mean, you look at what he's done at this age, the maturity of his game – not only is he the best scorer in the league, but he plays in all three zones,” Reeves said of the center, who ranks third in the league in scoring with 18 goals and 51 points.
“He gets into the corners. He's not afraid to be physical. He stops on pucks. If he turns the puck over, he stops. He doesn't get hung up and hope for a breakaway. He just plays the game the right way, and he's very skilled, with a high hockey IQ. That's the type of player you want. He's got that winning mentality and that dog in him. I think it would be a huge snub if he wasn't involved.” He just proved everything. There's nothing more he can do.”
Believe me, he will come up with even more.
“The way he plays the game, the way he competes with and without the puck, he's probably one of our more physical guys in puck battles, so there's no fear of puck battles,” added Warsofsky, whose club received pregame support from George Kittle, Brock Purdy and a group of San Francisco 49ers players who also joined the guys for postgame speeches.
“Obviously, we know what he can do with the puck on his stick and how dangerous he can create things. But for me, it's all about the habits away from the puck. Those are the habits with the puck. He's a winning hockey player. He's very competitive. We could be here all day with the positive things he can bring to this group.”
