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Greg Wyshynski Jul 14, 2026, 11:15 AM ET Close Greg Wyshynski is ESPNs senior NHL writer.
Multiple Authors After making NHL history this season, San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini has made video game history.
Celebrini, 20, will be the cover athlete for both the Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition of NHL 27 when those games are released later this year.
According to EA Sports, Celebrini is the youngest player ever featured as a cover athlete for its NHL series.
Trevor Zegras was 21 when he appeared on the cover of NHL 23 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.
I thought it was amazing.
I loved it, Celebrini told ESPN, when asked about the cover.
Fairly simple process: They just sent it to me and I was just like, Yeah, it looks good.' Hes wearing a white Sharks road jersey on the Standard Edition cover and a teal Sharks home jersey on the Deluxe Edition.
The next generation is here.
Macklin Celebrini is the youngest NHL cover athlete in history.
Tune in for the #NHL27 Reveal Trailer on July 16 at 11 AM ET.
pic.twitter.com/YOUwVtwSTT EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) July 14, 2026 The NHL 27 cover continues a remarkable year for Celebrini, whom the Sharks selected first overall in the 2024 draft.
He set a San Jose franchise record for points in a season (115, including 45 goals), scoring 56 more points and 21 more goals than any other Sharks player in 2025-26.
Celebrini was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player, as voted on by the NHLPA, and finished fourth for the Hart Trophy, given to the NHLs MVP.
Last week, Celebrini was named IIHFs Male Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season, thanks to his NHL accomplishments and his outstanding run in the Olympics for Team Canada.
Celebrini led the tournament with five goals in six games, along with 10 points, as Canada won the silver medal in mens ice hockey after falling to Team USA in the final.
Editors Picks It was so much fun.
Obviously, it was a really, really, rough way to end, but I think just the whole experience was so cool, just being in the Olympic Village and getting that experience with other athletes that were there, he said.
Celebrini is entering his third NHL season, having scored 178 points (70 goals, 108 assists) in 152 career games.
The Sharks have made several upgrades in the offseason in search of their first playoff berth since 2019, including signing defensemen Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba and Michael Kesselring, as well as drafting forward Ivar Stenberg with the No.
2 pick.