When the only names ahead of you on a list are Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, you're doing something very, very special.
Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks reached 60 assists in just 65 games this season, making him the third-fastest teenager in NHL history to hit that milestone. Only The Great One (56 games in 1979-80) and Sid the Kid (50 games in 2006-07) did it faster.
Let me repeat that for the people in the back: Gretzky. Crosby. Celebrini.
That's the entire list. Three names. Two generational superstars who changed the game forever, and a 19-year-old kid currently giving Sharks fans a reason to believe in the future.
Folks, I've been covering hockey since the dead puck era, and I'm telling you - what Celebrini is doing in San Jose borders on the absurd. The Sharks are having a rough season, sitting near the bottom of the standings, rebuilding from the ground up. And this teenager is out there racking up assists like he's playing NHL 25 on rookie mode.
Sixty assists in 65 games. That's nearly an assist per game for a teenager playing against grown men who've been in this league for years. Players who know every trick, every system, every way to shut down a young playmaker.
And Celebrini is carving them up anyway.
What makes this even more impressive is the context. Gretzky had the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. Crosby walked into Pittsburgh and immediately elevated everyone around him. Celebrini? He's working with a Sharks roster that's in full rebuild mode, without the same level of elite talent surrounding him.
He's creating opportunities out of thin air.
The hockey IQ is off the charts. Celebrini sees plays developing three passes ahead. He's threading passes through traffic that most players wouldn't even attempt. His vision and patience with the puck are qualities you usually don't see until a player hits their mid-twenties.
"Macklin processes the game at an elite level," Sharks head coach said in a recent interview.
