Macklin Celebrini to Land on Cover of NHL 27 as Sharks’ Young Star Makes Franchise History

The NHL announced that San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini will be featured on the cover of NHL 27, a move that the league framed as a franchise first. According to the announcement relayed by Yahoo Sports, Celebrini becomes the youngest cover star in Sharks franchise history, underscoring how quickly his profile has risen in his early NHL window.

The cover selection matters beyond marketing because the NHL cover spot often functions like a measuring stick for league prominence in the coming season and beyond. It is a high-visibility report to fans, and to the broader hockey audience, that the league views the featured player as a centerpiece for the sport’s next chapter.

In the same breath, the NHL’s announcement sparked comparisons to another up-and-coming figure. Yahoo Sports notes that New York Islanders prospect and star-in-waiting Matthew Schaefer could be positioned to challenge that “youngest cover” benchmark if his path continues at a similar pace into the next game edition. The framing suggests a future where both teams could be represented by their young, high-upside attackers in successive NHL-branded cover cycles.

Celebrini’s appearance on NHL 27 also arrives at a moment when the Sharks’ identity increasingly revolves around their younger core and the idea of building toward sustained contention. While a video-game cover does not change the standings, it does reflect how quickly a player can become shorthand for a team’s direction. For Sharks fans, the choice is likely to feel like recognition of a player who is already carrying meaningful weight in public perception.

For the Islanders, Schaefer’s potential “near-future” candidacy functions as a storyline to watch, even though no official claim was made at this stage about him being named the next cover athlete. If the league follows the same logic that elevated Celebrini, the question becomes whether Schaefer’s impact can translate into the kind of league-wide recognition that typically precedes these cover decisions.

There is also a broader, annual rhythm to the NHL cover announcements: they highlight the league’s most visible personalities at a given moment in time rather than serving as a direct reward for any single game or postseason outcome. That means fans should read NHL 27’s cover as both a recognition and a prediction about who will remain at the center of hockey conversation heading into the next year of the NHL schedule.