Celebrini goes Hollywood in cover shoot with 'Off Campus' star Cameli

LAS VEGAS – One plays for the San Jose Sharks. One is a prospect for the Boston Bruins – or, at least, he plays one on TV.

Macklin Celebrini and Belmont Cameli came together on Aug. 17 for a photo shoot for the cover of The Hollywood Reporter's Sports Issue, hockey sticks in hand.

For the San Jose Sharks star, who also graces the cover of EA Sports NHL 27, the experience of standing in front of a white backdrop and giving his best "smize" was entirely new. For Cameli, who stars in the Amazon Prime show "Off Campus" as Garrett Graham, it comes with the job of being a working actor for the past eight years.

"That was my first model-y thing," Celebrini said Wednesday, while in Las Vegas for the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour. "This media tour has some of that, but that was different. It was different. Because obviously Belmont was there and he was very comfortable. He said he did a lot of modeling. But it was crazy."

"Off Campus" is centered around the relationship between Graham and Hannah Wells, students at the fictional Briar University, where Graham is a star hockey player and son of a hockey legend. The series is based on a book series by Elle Kennedy.

It's one of two current shows that have hockey at their center, along with "Heated Rivalry," as the sport has burst into the spotlight.

And few have been in the spotlight in the NHL over the past year like Celebrini, including in this case for The Hollywood Reporter's "Game Recognize Game" series. Celebrini, who turned 20 in June, had 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in his second NHL season while nearly leading the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and becoming part of an impressive youth movement in the League.

"It's cool," he said. "It's cool, getting to do this stuff, it's unique. It's things I didn't think I would get to do. It's cool kind of experiencing different things and getting the opportunity to do different things. It's all fun."

In the photos, Celebrini and Cameli each hold hockey sticks, with Celebrini clad in dark pants and an olive-toned shirt, open at the collar. Cameli has his own dark slacks on, his blue shirt striped and tucked in.

"He's a great guy," Celebrini said. "Awesome. It was easy to talk. All those questions and that whole interview was very natural. It was easy."

The two almost met even earlier.

Celebrini nearly got to appear in an episode of "Off Campus," which films in Vancouver where he trains in the offseason, but the dates didn't quite align.

"I think I was either gone or the timing didn't make sense," he said.

And while he hasn't gotten to sit down and watch the full season, Celebrini has caught a little bit of "Off Campus" – and he is even more aware of the cultural moment that hockey is having, one that has been growing, in his estimation, since the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off exploded onto the scene.

"It's a great thing," Celebrini said. "Just more attention on hockey, grow the game a little bit more."