Celebrini, Schaefer and Bedard lead the NHL's new wave of stars
A Gen Z cohort of stars, comfortable with celebrity and social media, arrives as the NHL rides rising U.S. viewership into a new season.
Macklin Celebrini is 20 years old, and he has already been on the cover of a video game and a Hollywood magazine.
The San Jose Sharks forward became the youngest cover athlete ever for EA Sports' NHL game this year. This month he appeared on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter alongside Belmont Cameli, star of the Amazon Prime Video hockey drama "Off-Campus." As Reuters reported Friday, a new generation of stars like him is in position to lift the league's popularity further as a new season begins.
The timing is favourable. Average U.S. viewership rose sharply last season, helped by marquee stars and the television hit "Heated Rivalry," and the NHL's return to the Olympics in Milano Cortina this year added to the momentum.
ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro, a retired centre, said the new wave arrives without hesitation.
"It is a remarkable thing to watch a young player, and there's several of them in the league, that they just come in and they're not fearful, they're not scared, they're not timid, they don't wait their turn. They're just ready to play," Ferraro said.
He also pointed to how naturally they handle attention off the ice.
"They've all grown up with a phone in their hand. They've grown up with social media. They're not intimidated by it. They welcome it," Ferraro said. "For Macklin, that stuff is easy. It just bubbles out of him."
Celebrini is set to take on a bigger leadership role in San Jose, and he is not alone at the top of the young crop. Matthew Schaefer, 19, won the Calder Trophy with the New York Islanders. Reuters noted that no defenceman that young had scored as a rookie in more than 80 years.
In Chicago, the Blackhawks named Connor Bedard the 37th captain in franchise history on Sept. 15. At 21, he is the second-youngest to hold the role.
Hall of Famer Mark Messier, also an ESPN analyst, framed the expectation plainly.
"It's a role of a superstar to take the franchise, put it on his back and carry them to a Stanley Cup. Maybe that's going to happen in Chicago," Messier said. "Good players, hopefully superstars, are a big part of the rebuilds, and we'll see if that can happen in Chicago."
