McDavid sets tone, teams with Celebrini in long-awaited Olympic debut

MILAN -- The quiet moment hit Connor McDavid when he was getting ready Thursday and about to put on the white Team Canada jersey.

It was then, before the Edmonton Oilers center had three assists in a 5-0 win against Team Czechia at Santagiulia Arena, that the 29-year-old who has been waiting for as long as he can possibly remember to be here, quietly said to himself, "I'm an Olympian."

"It's been a long time coming," McDavid said. "It's special to be here, special to be a part of this group. Just proud to represent my country."

McDavid put that pride on the ice in Canada's first game of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

He looked like he was skating above the ice on his first shift, like he was flying. Instead of a goal or an assist, his first big Olympic moment was a massive hit on Czechia defenseman Jan Rutta deep in Canada's offensive zone late in his first shift.

"You know what, when guys pull their country's jersey on, it's a bolt of energy that goes through you," McDavid said. "Just trying to contribute any way I can. We want to be a hard forechecking team and it's my chance to contribute to that."

It was one of those attention-grabbing, tone-setting moments.

"That's big," said Canada captain Sidney Crosby, who had two assists. "I mean, when he sets the tone like that we all want to follow suit. He's a guy that creates so many different ways, but with him being physical that's just another aspect of the game. To see him doing that is awesome. It shows he's engaged and that's what you need to win."

McDavid went on to showcase his unique skill in Canada's dominating 60-minute effort. He had the second assist on Macklin Celebrini's goal that gave Canada a 1-0 lead at 19:54 of the first period. His perfect saucer pass over goalie Lukas Dostal's pads set up Nathan MacKinnon's power-play goal at 7:42 of the third that made it 4-0. He added another assist on Nick Suzuki's goal at 13:22 that capped the 5-0 win.

"Even when the puck was slowing down, he didn't," Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas said. "He's a great, fast player. We did our best to try to keep him from the middle of the ice. It's one of the focuses we put together, and he still made some plays."

As impressive as McDavid's Olympic debut at 29 years old was what the hockey world saw from Celebrini during his at age 19. The San Jose Sharks forward made history by becoming the first Canada-born teenager to play in an Olympics with NHL players. Then he showed why by scoring the first goal on a smart net-front deflection of Cale Makar's shot from the right point at 19:54 of the first.

"Yeah, that's pretty cool," Celebrini said. "It kind of slowed down. The shot kind of came through, and I think that's my first tip goal in a while."

Celebrini leads the Sharks and he's fourth in the NHL with 81 points this season, 15 behind McDavid, the League leader, so it's not at all surprising that he's on this superstar-laden Team Canada.

He himself is a bona fide superstar now, but to play as well as he did on the world's biggest sporting stage at his age left his own teammates in awe even though they all know all too well that he deserves to be here -- because he's been tearing them up in the NHL too.

"I can't say enough good things about that kid," McDavid said. "He's so, so impressive."

Said MacKinnon, "He's so young, but I mean, if no one knew how old he was, just watching him, he's one of the best players in the world regardless of his age. He's a top five, seven, player in the world, no questions."

MacKinnon, who at 30 and to date has won nearly everything there is for him to win in this game except an Olympic gold medal, said even he is learning from Celebrini.

"It's amazing to see someone at 19 be that dialed in to their off ice, their on ice, their everything," MacKinnon said. "I think everyone can learn from him even though he's 19."

Celebrini said he felt obvious nerves before the game, but calmed himself by embracing the moment.

"Try to just kind of not let it weigh you down," he said. "There's a lot of excitement and a lot of nerves kind of going into it, but I think once you get out there, you kind of feel free, and you're able to just play the game you love."

McDavid, 10 years his elder, did that too.

Together they made up two-thirds of Canada's top line with Tom Wilson. Together with Makar, they helped Canada score its first goal of the tournament. There is zero doubt that together, McDavid and Celebrini will have to continue to weigh in heavily for Canada to go all the way to the gold medal stand.

They took their first step together Thursday in a pinch-me, I-am-an-Olympian-for-real game.

"It was special," McDavid said. "It was special to go out there and play and pull this jersey on. A pretty wild environment. Very, very cool to be a part of. Happy to get the first one under our belt."