Celebrini shares details on living with Vancouver Canucks captain Hughes and his family last summer
North Vancouver native Macklin Celebrini is making the transition to the NHL look pretty easy, especially considering he’s only 18 years old.
The San Jose Sharks star has 17 goals and 40 points in 45 games, which is incredibly impressive for a teenager. Part of this early success could be explained by last summer’s training plan, when he spent two weeks living and working out with the Hughes brothers, including Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.
Celebrini visited the Hughes family home in Michigan for two weeks, preparing for his first NHL season with some of the league’s best players.
“That was great,” Celebrini told Daily Hive in an exclusive interview. “Just seeing what they do, the level that they’re at, and competing and battling against them, I think there was no better way to prepare for the season.”
While the stint involved plenty of training, it also included some fun. He and Quinn teamed up on the Xbox to play College Football 25 together, creating a fictional player with whom they tried to win the Heisman Trophy.
“I stayed there, and [Quinn and I] were playing college football [on the Xbox]. We’d switch off every time.”
Those times spent playing video games led to a friendship, as Quinn and Celebrini have stayed in touch throughout the hockey season, texting back and forth occasionally.
While Celebrini made the trip out east to live with the Hughes brothers last summer, perhaps in the future, he’ll host them in Vancouver. If he does, he can take them up the Grouse Grind, where Celebrini thinks his best time of around 35 minutes will beat anything Quinn, Jack, or Luke can muster.
“I just think off experience, I might win.”
The Hughes brothers are some of the only people who can understand Celebrini’s position as a rising celebrity athlete. They’re all among the brightest young stars in the NHL.
For Celebrini, his popularity is growing and is perhaps strongest in Vancouver, as evidenced by the massive cheers he got at Rogers Arena when he visited for the first time as an NHL player. He had 50-60 family members and friends in the stands, but there were far more people than that cheering him on.
“That was a really cool experience. I don’t think I could have expected anything from that. It was just one of those moments that I’ll remember for a very long time, with my family in the crowd, all my friends, the ability to play back in my hometown.”
Vancouver hockey fans are known for being a bit wild, but thankfully, Celebrini’s fan experiences have mostly been positive thus far.
“I haven’t really been there much, just the one time in Vancouver, but I do think I get recognized a little bit more now. Usually, it’s just best of luck kind of thing, ask for a photo or something.”
Celebrini gets involved in a charitable cause
While he’s still just a teenager, Celebrini is already focused on giving back. He’s an ambassador for the Kruger Big Assist program, which helps to make hockey more accessible for Canadians from the West Coast to the East Coast.
Kruger is giving five minor hockey organizations $25,000 and an additional $75,000 grand prize to one of those associations.
“Every kid that wants to should have the opportunity to play hockey. I was lucky growing up and had the chance to play the sport I love from a young age thanks to my parent’s support, but hockey is expensive.”
“That’s why I’m proud to be the Kruger Big Assist’s ambassador in the Pacific region, so I can help spread the word, rally Canadians and give more kids the support they need to step out onto the ice.”