Max Miller
San Jose Sharks 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini has been named the captain for Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Canada’s roster for the 2026 Worlds is a mix of young stars and proven veterans. The San Jose Sharks superstar will share the leadership duties with two former NHL captains, Ryan O’Reilly and John Tavares. O’Reilly spent three years as the captain of the St. Louis Blues (2020-2023). Tavares has been captain twice in his career, first with the New York Islanders (2013-2018) and then with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2019-2024).
The last time Tavares played for Canada at the World Championship was in 2024, where he was the captain. That season, Canada would lose to Team Sweden in the Bronze Medal game.
For Celebrini, there is already talk of him becoming the next captain of the San Jose Sharks in 26-27. He’ll get a taste of it on an international stage with this announcement. During the Sharks’ end-of-season exit interviews, many of Celebrini’s teammates had confidence in his ability to be the next team captain.
“I mean, I don’t see a reason why not,” Tyler Toffoli said about Celebrini becoming the captain. “I mean, obviously, he leads by example. When you work as hard as he does, like I was saying, with how intense [he is] and everything that he brings. I definitely don’t see a reason why not.”
When head coach Ryan Warsofsky was asked about Celebrini’s chances of becoming the next captain, the bench boss said he and GM Mike Grier will have conversations over the Summer.
Team Canada will play Team Sweden on May 15th for its first game of the tournament.
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