The Boston University men’s hockey team is loaded with talent this 2023-24 season, but one name in particular will be on everyone’s radar — freshman forward Macklin Celebrini.
The 17-year-old will be the youngest player in the NCAA this season, and with the 2024 NHL Entry Draft looming, all eyes will be on the teenager projected to go No. 1 overall.
Lucky for him, he will be joining an experienced squad poised for success.
After winning the Hockey East championship and making a run in the Frozen Four last season, this year’s Terriers were ranked first in the USCHO and HE preseason polls.
While Celebrini is part of the team’s 13 new additions, BU’s returning members have set the precedent and are hungry to get back to the national stage.
“Everyone’s on the same page,” Celebrini said. “We have one goal, and it’s to win. There’s no other option.”
This season’s expectations will be through the roof, and the media will be watching every step of the way. However, those around Celebrini are not worried about the pressure affecting the young phenom.
BU captain and graduate defenseman Case McCarthy sits next to Celebrini in the locker room and has gotten to know him better despite their five-year age difference.
“I don’t know if it’s me getting old or him being young, but that kid works,” McCarthy said. “He’s going to live up and exceed every single expectation he has … it just seems like pressure doesn’t phase him when he’s on the ice.”
BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo is not concerned about him either.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Pandolfo said. “I think he’s been used to it for a while. He’s been a household name in hockey for a few years now, and I think he has very high expectations for himself.”
Part of Celebrini’s mature demeanor can be traced back to his upbringing — more importantly, to his father. Macklin’s dad, Rick, has been working in the sports industry as an athlete and sports medicine professional for over 30 years.
Although Macklin’s raw talent is unteachable, Rick’s expertise has only bolstered his son’s on-ice product.
“It’s part of the reason I am who I am,” Celebrini said. “It’s helped me significantly. I’m blessed to have him.”
Rick worked as the Director of Rehabilitation for the Vancouver Canucks from 2014-18, so Celebrini naturally grew up at Rogers Arena.
Constantly around professional hockey players as a kid, Macklin got an inside look of what he will one day experience.
“The Canucks in general are my favorite team,” Celebrini said. “It was pretty special just being in that environment and seeing that at such a young age — what the best players in the world are doing.”
Following his time with the Canucks, Rick left the organization in 2018 for the Golden State Warriors. Over the next year, Macklin got a taste for Junior California hockey before shipping off to Minnesota to attend Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep.
Spending two seasons at the highly-esteemed high school development program, Celebrini racked up 258 points (101 goals, 157 assists) over 102 games and played alongside the newest BU commit, Cole Eiserman.
“It’s a special place if you want to develop,” Celebrini said. “They have all the resources there if you want it … it changed my life.”
After his time at Shattuck, Celebrini had to make a big decision in the spring of 2022. Hailing from British Columbia, his natural path toward professional hockey involved playing in the WHL — a league he grew up watching and always wanted to play for.
But after thinking long and hard, Celebrini decided to sign with the USHL’s Chicago Steel instead. Looking back, he has “no regrets” with his decision.
“I felt like Chicago was the best place for me to go to develop last year,” Celebrini said. “It was a key step in my development for sure.”
The Steel has become a destination for high-end talent, attracting current superstars such as Adam Fantilli and Owen Power. With the Steel, Celebrini set the USHL’s single-season scoring record for a U17 player while playing on a line with fellow BU freshman, Jack Harvey.
“[Harvey’s] a special player,” Celebrini said. “He’s so calm and collected and obviously a very skilled player. I’m happy he’s here.”
The pair is part of BU’s nine-player incoming freshman class. However, if it were not for good timing, Celebrini would not be joining the large group.
Early on in his recruitment process, BU was not even on Celebrini’s radar. It was not until after Pandolfo was named head coach and he brought in associate head coach Joe Pereira and assistant coach Kim Brandvold that Celebrini committed.
“Last summer, I got to know Jay, Kim, and Joe. They were the biggest reason that I came here,” Celebrini said. “They’re very, very smart people.”
Now, with the help of his more seasoned teammates, Celebrini has already made himself comfortable at BU.
“It’s a little bit of a transition having some older guys on the team, but it hasn’t been weird at all,” Celebrini said. “They’ve been awesome helping all of us freshmen get into the flow of things.”
The transition has been even easier given that Macklin’s brother, Aiden, is also part of the freshman class.
“Coming to a new spot with someone you know makes the transition easier, especially since he’s my roommate,” Celebrini said. “I always have that sense of home.”
Macklin enters this year coming off a shoulder injury he sustained while playing with the Steel and re-injured while representing Canada in the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship. Over the offseason, Celebrini underwent surgery and, having someone of his father’s expertise at his side, made his rehab go smoothly.
“I was, again, blessed to have him there,” Celebrini said. “The whole summer, having his experience is a game changer.”
There was some concern that Celebrini would miss the beginning of this season, but after recently ditching the no-contact jersey in practice and scoring four goals in the Scarlet vs. White preseason scrimmage, he plans to play in the Terriers’ season opener against Bentley University on Oct. 7.
BU is playing the first three weeks of its season on the road, but the freshman is looking forward to his home debut at Agganis Arena on Oct. 27.
“I’m super excited,” Celebrini said. “I’ll have to see, but I’ve heard we have the best fanbase in college hockey.”
Celebrini’s name is a leading factor for the preseason hype surrounding this team, but the young player understands it will take a collective effort to go far.
“We’re one of the deepest teams in college hockey and even some of the guys that maybe aren’t well known — they’re key guys,” Celebrini said. “The level and compete we have going into the year. It’s going to be fun to watch how we do.”
Regardless of any one player’s background, the goal remains the same. This season is championship or bust for the No. 1 Terriers.
“All we’re thinking about is we want to win the national championship,” Celebrini said. “It was presented to us from day one, so we’re going to work on all the details and all of the little things to do that.”
This article is part of the 2023-2024 printed “Hockey Issue” that will be available on campus Oct. 27 and at opening night at Agganis Arena.
the terriers are obviously very talented. celebrini’s debut in the intrasquad game, his sense of postioning passing and shooting ability look awesome and reminded me of how jack eichel looked in his first exhibition game for the terriers back in 2014. Now we have to see how the individuals will blend together as a team, remember we lost 10 players from last year including Brown, Skoog, and O’Brien who were stalwart contributors to the program for several years and very important players. Commesso was also was a big loss and we’ll see how the replacement transfers Caron and Graham do.