Insider Has Macklin Celebrini As Hart Trophy Leader Ahead Of McDavid, MacKinnon

The NHL is in a great place right now. Nearly every team has been competitive this season, the standings are as tight as they’ve been in years, and the league’s crop of superstars continues to grow with the emergence of elite young talent.

As a result, we’ve got some tremendous award races going on around the league, none more compelling than the battle for the Hart Trophy. Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are once again trading blows atop the scoring race, putting up video-game numbers on a nightly basis. That said, this is not just a two-man conversation, because one name remains right there with them: Macklin Celebrini.

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San Jose’s first-overall pick in 2024 had a phenomenal rookie season, yet has somehow managed to outdo himself with an explosion in year two, bursting onto the scene as one of the best players in the world already.

His play and production have been the driving force behind the Sharks’ surprising presence in a playoff spot as the calendar has flipped into the new year, and because of that, insider Frank Seravalli has him as the frontrunner to take home the league’s most prestigious regular-season award.

Seravalli said:

“If I were filling out my Hart Trophy ballot today, then yes, Macklin Celebrini would be number one on my ballot. It’s most valuable to his team. The San Jose Sharks are one point out of the division lead. He has 37 more points than his next closest teammate, he’s on track for 127 points this year. And without Macklin Celebrini driving the bus — and servicing it, and washing it — then guess what? The San Jose Sharks are a lottery team this year. They’re in the bottom three in the league,”

The 19-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular in his second NHL season, piling up 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists) through his first 43 games.

Macklin Celebrini’s Hart Trophy Case

Seravalli lays out a strong case for Celebrini, and if he’s able to drag San Jose into the postseason while maintaining this level of production, there’s little doubt he’ll at least be among the finalists for the award.

The problem is what stands in his way. McDavid and MacKinnon are both at the peak of their powers and playing arguably the best hockey of their careers, which is saying something given how dominant they’ve been for years now.

What Celebrini does have working in his favor is context. McDavid has Leon Draisaitl. MacKinnon has Cale Makar. Both play on teams with clear Stanley Cup expectations. Celebrini, meanwhile, is doing this with a far thinner supporting cast on a team with little to no expectations of even making the playoffs — and doing it as a teenager.

We know the voters love a good story, and what this kid has done so far in 2025-26 checks every box, so at this point it shouldn’t even come as a surprise to hear his name in this kind of company.

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