By Amy Tennery
MILAN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Teenaged talent Macklin Celebrini's meteoric rise is no accident, Canadian captain Sidney Crosby said on Monday, as the future Hall of Famer known as "Sid the Kid" gave his stamp of approval to the next generation.
The 19-year-old Celebrini is the first teenager selected for Canada's storied men's Olympic ice hockey team at an NHL-inclusive Games, and the first overall pick in the 2024 draft lives up to the hype.
"It's just his mindset - he's a hard worker, he's competitive,
feels like he wants to be in these situations, wants to be in the big moments," said the 38-year-old Crosby.
"It's no fluke as to why he's had the year (that he has had)."
Celebrini was only three years old when Crosby crafted one of the greatest moments of Canadian hockey lore, scoring the "golden goal" at the 2010 Winter Games, but has been fitting in with the sport's established names in a prolific NHL season.
The San Jose Sharks centre went into the Olympic break fourth in the NHL point standings, with 28 goals and 53 assists.
"This is something that he wants and you can tell, his game showed it," said Crosby, who helped Canada to win gold in 2010 and 2014.
Celebrini skated on a line with Canada's biggest hockey name Connor McDavid at the team's opening practice at Santagiulia Arena, clicking with the game's most dynamic player quickly in an early hint of what his role could be in Milan.
"Macklin (is a) great player, putting up lots of points and doing a lot of really good things in San Jose," said McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers captain.
"Even just that little bit of being around him, I can tell how hard he works, how much he cares about it. It's been impressive to see, obviously, he's such a young guy.
"But to make this team and not only make this team, he's going to be asked to play a big role and that's incredible."
Canada open their Olympic campaign on Thursday with a Group A game against Czech Republic.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Milan; editing by Clare Fallon)
