Nineteen-year-old Macklin Celebrini will make history as Canada’s youngest-ever captain when the world hockey championships begin Friday in Switzerland, with veteran Sidney Crosby joining the roster as the United States looks to defend its 2025 title.
The San Jose Sharks center becomes not only the youngest captain in Canadian world championship history but also the youngest player on this year’s roster for the tournament taking place in Zurich and Fribourg.
The young star has enjoyed a remarkable year during his second NHL campaign, posting incredible statistics with a franchise-record 115 points through 45 goals and 70 assists across 82 regular season contests.
His outstanding performance placed him fourth in league standings and earned him Ted Lindsay Award finalist recognition alongside established veterans Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Celebrini joins an elite group, as just two teenagers in NHL history have reached 50 points faster in a season – legends Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.
These exceptional numbers secured his spot on Canada’s squad following their silver medal performance at this year’s Milan Cortina Olympics.
With 28 world championship titles, Canada leads all nations in tournament success and remains among the top contenders regardless of roster availability during NHL playoff season.
Celebrini will work alongside two veteran alternate captains, both 35 years old: John Tavares from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ryan O’Reilly from the Nashville Predators.
Crosby’s late addition for his fourth tournament appearance strengthens Canada’s chances as they seek to improve from last year’s disappointing fifth-place showing.
The 2024 NHL draft’s first overall selection previously competed in the 2025 tournament alongside Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, but Canada suffered a shocking 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to Denmark.
Canada’s most recent championship came in 2023.
The Americans captured their second world title and first since 1933 last year when Tage Thompson netted an overtime goal at 2:02 for a 1-0 final victory over Switzerland.
Thompson won’t return this year due to his Buffalo Sabres’ playoff series against Montreal Canadians. The U.S. roster retains only two players from last year’s championship team: forwards Mason Lohrei of the Boston Bruins and Isaac Howard of the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL.
American forward Matthew Tkachuk has the opportunity to join hockey’s exclusive Triple Gold Club. He captured consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Florida Panthers and earned Olympic gold at the Milan Cortina Games with Team USA.
Currently, 30 players have achieved Stanley Cup, Olympic, and world championship victories, with 11 Canadians leading that group.
Tkachuk stands as the sole Milan Games Olympian selected for the U.S. squad. Justin Faulk of the Detroit Red Wings will serve as team captain in his fourth world championship appearance.
Host nation Switzerland, coming off consecutive runner-up finishes, aims for greater success with a roster featuring forwards Nico Hirschier and Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils, Nino Niederreiter of the Winnipeg Jets, Pius Sutter of the St. Louis Blues, and Nashville defenseman Roman Josi.
Traditional medal favorites Sweden, featuring Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, and Finland, with Florida center Aleksandar Barkov, will also compete for the title.
Tournament organizers have split the 16 participating nations into two preliminary round groups.
Group A in Zurich features the United States alongside Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, and first-time participant Britain. Group B in Fribourg includes Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, and fellow newcomer Italy.
Each group’s top four teams will advance to quarterfinal play. Championship and third-place matches are set for May 31.
