SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini was picked as captain of the San Jose Sharks on Friday, becoming the youngest player ever to fill that role for the team at the age of 20.
Celebrini takes over the spot that had been vacant since Logan Couture went down with a career-ending injury, becoming the 11th full-time captain in Sharks history.
Couture was given that role for the 2019-20 season and held it through the 2024-25 season even though he didn't play a single game that year because of a chronic injury to his groin and pelvic area that ended his career.
Celebrini was one of five players who rotated as alternate captains last season but now has the role for the foreseeable future. He is the youngest player to fill the leadership role, with Patrick Marleau previously holding that mark when he was named captain at age 24 in 2004. He is also the youngest current captain in the NHL, edging out 21-year-old Connor Bedard, who was named captain in Chicago earlier this month.
Celebrini has become the face of the franchise since being drafted first overall in 2024 and quickly developing into one of the game's biggest stars. He signed a five-year, $94 million extension this summer and is under contract through the 2031-32 season.
Celebrini, who turned 20 in June, has 178 career points for the fifth-most ever for a teenager and his 70 career goals are seventh best for a player before turning 20.
Celebrini had 45 goals and 70 assists last season, with his 115 points breaking Joe Thornton’s franchise record of 114 set in 2006-07 and trailing Wayne Gretzky (137 in 1979-80) and Sidney Crosby (120 in 2006-07) for the most in a season for a player before turning 20.
He had the 10th-most points ever for a player who missed the playoffs, recording a point on 46.2% of San Jose goals for the second-best rate in the league behind Connor McDavid (48.9%) and the best ever for a teenager.
He also was the leading goal scorer in the Olympics, with five goals to help Canada win the silver medal.
Despite Celebrini’s exploits, the Sharks still missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. They improved by 34 points for the 10th best single-season jump in the last 30 years but landed four points out of the playoffs.
Celebrini is part of a strong young core in San Jose alongside fellow promising players like Michael Misa, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov and Sam Dickinson. The Sharks added even more young talent this offseason with three first-round picks headlined by Swedish left winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall. They also added North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 9 and WHL Vancouver play-making defenseman Ryan Lin at No. 21.
General manager Mike Grier also brought in veteran reinforcements at the start of the offseason, trading for defenseman Darnell Nurse and signing defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
FILE - San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) drives the puck as Vancouver Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) defends during the third period of their NHL ice hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Residents on Hawaii's Big Island were bracing Friday for potentially life-threatening and catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Nolo, while Mexico was still under the threat of Hurricane Polo as it headed toward the Baja Peninsula after bringing storm conditions to the southwestern coast.
Nolo was about 185 miles (298 kilometers) south of the Big Island on Friday morning and headed northeast, with tropical storm conditions expected to begin on land in the evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to take a turn west Saturday and avoid directly hitting the islands.
Forecasters warned eastern and southern areas of the island could see rainfall totals of 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters), with a maximum of 25 inches (64 centimeters). That was down from an earlier forecast of 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 centimeters), with a maximum of 35 inches (89 centimeters). Wind gusts on land could hit 50 mph (80 kph).
Nolo was expected to strengthen to a major hurricane on Saturday.
“People are going to want to kind of shelter in place on the Big Island, be in their safe place, certainly by later today, tonight, well into Saturday," Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Friday. “Don’t venture out if you don’t have to into the dangerous flooding environment, but also high winds. We can have trees and power lines down.”
Heavy rainfall also was possible on Hawaii's other islands, the hurricane center said. Maui also could see heavy rainfall and potential life-threatening flooding and mudslides, forecasters said.
The hurricane's maximum sustained winds were 85 mph (137 kph) on Friday morning and were expected to increase into the weekend.
Hawaii officials told residents to put together emergency kits and the governor issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members. Schools were closed.
Hawaii County officials on the Big Island were urging residents in flood-prone areas to consider taking refuge at shelters being set up or other locations. Authorities said sand for sandbags was publicly available at several locations.
“We encourage everyone to complete their preparations, stay connected to official alerts and weather updates, and secure safe shelter before flooding strikes,” Mayor Kimo Alameda said in a statement.
The heaviest rain from Nolo is likely to fall over the same southeastern region of the Big Island that was hit in August by Hurricane Lala and where grounds are still wet from additional precipitation. The storm surge could hit 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 centimeters), creating large and dangerous waves and coastal flooding, the hurricane center said.
Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews that had been helping restore power in Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell would return to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in preparation for the coming storm.
Residents and tourists on the Big Island were busy preparing.
“I guess that’d be my concern — whether we’re getting out of here or not, but, you know, as far as the weather goes, it is what it is," said Daniel Compton, who was visiting from Seattle.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has requested an emergency disaster declaration for four Hawaii counties.
The hurricane center said Polo gained significant force overnight into Friday morning as it brought storm conditions to parts of the western Mexico coast. The latest estimated sustained winds were 180 mph (290 kph). Its center was far from land over the ocean and headed west, but it is expected to turn north and hit the Baja California Peninsula late Sunday into Monday, the center said.
No major damage or flooding was reported along the coast overnight into Friday.
Residents stacked sandbags to fortify beachfront shops and evacuated their homes in some coastal areas on Thursday. Mexican authorities opened shelters and cleared people from beaches, and 15,000 security personnel were deployed across the coast. Schools were closed.
In the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán, seawater swept through homes and left wooden planks and furniture strewn on the streets. Locals and government officials were clearing debris and shoveling thick mud coating much of the town.
Alicia Contreras said the walls and roof of her restaurant had been severely damaged by 15-foot (4.5-meter) waves. As officers and family helped pick through the damage, Contreras worried about how she would recover economically.
“This is huge because we have no other source of income. Now we’re just surviving,” Contreras said.
Brennan said some moisture associated with Polo will be pushed into parts of the southwestern U.S. by Monday, possibly producing scattered flash flooding in the Four Corners region, particularly portions of Arizona and New Mexico.
El Niño is prompting major environmental shifts across the world, fueling drought in some areas and flooding in others. It traditionally dampens the Atlantic hurricane season, while it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific with moist air and little wind shear.
A third storm in the Pacific, Hurricane Odalys, was at Category 4 status and was still far from land, roughly 955 miles (1,537 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Two other powerful storms were churning in the Atlantic Ocean, but were not near land.
In the northern Atlantic, Tropical Storm Fay re-formed early Thursday. As of Friday, it was about 1,040 miles (1,674 kilometers) west-southwest of the Azores, the hurricane center said. Off Africa's western coast, Tropical Storm Gonzalo strengthened early Friday as it approached the Cabo Verde Islands.
Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
Members of Youth With A Mission read under a palm tree as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Kona, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Members of Youth With A Mission read under a palm tree as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Kona, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Gonzalo in the Atlantic Ocean, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Nolo, left, south of Hawaii; Hurricane Odalys, middle, and Hurricane Polo, right, off the coast of Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Gonzalo in the Atlantic Ocean, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo off the southwestern coast of Mexico and Hurricane Odalys, left, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (NOAA via AP) CORRECTION: Changes to Hurricane Odalys, not Tropical Storm Nolo.
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Nolo in the Pacific Ocean, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo moving away from the southwestern coast of Mexico on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Nolo, left, south of Hawaii; Hurricane Odalys, middle, and Hurricane Polo, right, off the coast of Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
