New York Islanders Matthew Schaefer-Macklin Celebrini should be next big NHL rivalry By Ethan Sears Published Nov. 9, 2026, 9:38 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results.
Make New York Post a Preferred Source Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders skates during warmups before a game against the New Jersey Devils in Elmont, New York, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images SAN JOSE, Calif. — If the NHL wants to find its successors to the marketing buffet of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin’s rivalry, it could do a whole lot worse than the Matthew Schaefer-Macklin Celebrini matchup that wrote its third chapter here on Monday night.
Schaefer is 19 years old, Celebrini is 20. The San Jose star was named captain of his team ahead of this season and had a starring performance at the Olympics for Team Canada last season; two milestones that everyone around the Islanders believes Schaefer will hit at the first available opportunity.
They’ve already co-starred in a Tim Horton’s commercial that included Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand. Though they’d met briefly before that, Schaefer said that shoot was the first time the two had gotten to know each other.
Macklin Celebrini (71) of the San Jose Sharks handles the puck against the Dallas Stars in Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images “We’re both meant to play hockey and that’s our job. When we’re away from the rink and have fun at a Tim’s shoot, just messing around and enjoying our time together, it’s nice,” he said. “When you can get away from the rink and be a kid — he’s a year older than me so we’re both still pretty young — so it’s fun to just be off and have some fun.”
