Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini plays against the Dallas Stars in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

MINNEAPOLIS — Macklin Celebrini shook hands with Doug Armstrong early last season.

The general manager of the Canadian men's hockey team was in attendance to watch his St. Louis Blues play the San Jose Sharks — led by the No. 1 pick at the 2024 NHL draft.

"You're not on the radar, likely, for the 4 Nations," Armstrong remembers of his message to Celebrini ahead that showcase tournament. "But the Olympics are coming up and we're going to watch you."

Celebrini then went out and put on a show.

"I'll always have those conversations after the game moving forward," Armstrong added with a laugh.

Celebrini has soared to even greater heights in the 15 months since. Now he will be wearing the red Maple Leaf on the sporting world's biggest stage.

The 19-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., was among 19 players named to Canada's finalized 25-man roster Wednesday ahead of the NHL's Olympic return.

Celebrini, who sits third in league scoring behind superstar countrymen Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, is one of six additions to the group that won the 4 Nations last February.

Armstrong said at a press conference unveiling the team it was clear the centre deserved to make the cut in early December.

"He's really taken off," said Armstrong, who added the management group settled on 12 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders about a month ago. "His resume is shorter, but is extremely filled out for his age."

Celebrini, who also suited up at the men's world championship in the spring, is set to become just the third teenager to play for Canada at a best-on-best tournament, joining Steve Yzerman (1984 Canada Cup) and Eric Lindros (1991 Canada Cup).

McDavid endorsed the selection.

"He's had a great year, very deserving," the Oilers captain told reporters in Edmonton. "Had a great year last year, played at the (worlds). I have full faith in the guys picking the team. If they say he deserves to be there, he deserves to be there."

The other newcomers up front are Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens), Bo Horvat (New York Islanders) and Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals).

Canada, which plays its first game at the Olympics on Feb. 12 against Czechia, is keeping its 4 Nations defence corps intact, but is switching out two of the three goaltenders, with Logan Thompson (Washington) and Darcy Kuemper (Los Angeles Kings) joining Jordan Binnington (St. Louis). They replace Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal).

Binnington, who entered Wednesday ranked 30th in the NHL with an .870 save percentage among netminders with at least 20 games, has struggled this season, but won Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 2019 and stepped up at 4 Nations. Kuemper (.917) and Thompson (.915) are second and fourth in save percentage, respectively.

"Never came up as a question mark," Armstrong said of Binnington. "What everyone saw from him at the 4 Nations cemented his legacy for this tournament, and what I've seen over his career made it easy for me to go that direction."

The 4 Nations forwards not making the cut for the Milan Cortina Olympics are Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers) and Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes).

McDavid, MacKinnon, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Colorado defenceman Cale Makar, Tampa Bay Lightning centre Brayden Point and Florida winger Sam Reinhart were previously named to the roster.

They will be joined by returning forwards Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay), Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay), Brad Marchand (Florida), Mitch Marner (Vegas) and Mark Stone (Vegas).

The defence led by Makar will consist of Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia), Shea Theodore (Vegas) and Devon Toews (Colorado).

"Everyone has their own idea of what the team's going to look like — the names they would have on it, names they wouldn't," McDavid said. "The team could be a million different things."

The 38-year-old Crosby and 36-year-old Doughty are the only players with past Olympic experience, at both the 2010 and 2014 Games, when Canada captured back-to-back gold medals.

Armstrong said the conversation was "R-rated" when he gave Doughty the news.

"Drew's an unbelievable competitor," Armstrong said. "His passion, he wears it on his sleeve, and that's infectious to everybody."

Some of the notable omissions include Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard, who was tied for third in scoring before suffering an upper-body injury Dec. 12, and Winnipeg counterpart Mark Scheifele. Washington defenceman Jakob Chychrun and Islanders rookie blueliner Matthew Schaefer were also left out.

Armstrong said Canada has a standby list of players in the event of injuries, but any potential additions would depend on the attributes subtracted from the roster.

Bedard, meanwhile, remained in the mix over the last number of days.

"We could have named him," Armstrong said. "We just have difficult decisions to make."

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper will be back behind the bench after guiding Canada to a thrilling victory over the United States in the 4 Nations final.

Armstrong said the two-time Cup winner had plenty of input rounding out the final roster spots.

"We've really worked hand-in-hand," Armstrong said. "He and his coaching staff have been invaluable in telling us what they needed, the type of players they needed, what areas of concern we had."

The NHL went to five straight Olympics from 1998 through 2014 before skipping the 2018 Games. COVID-19 then squashed plans in 2022, but hockey's best are finally set to return following a 12-year absence.

Canada won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010 with its NHLers before climbing the podium a third time four years later in Sochi, Russia.

Armstrong will now hand the keys to Cooper.

"There's so many worthy players here," said the GM. "Not one player played their way off of this team — 25 guys played their way on."

-With files from John Korobanik in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025