MILAN – Cale Makar is most comfortable with the puck on his stick.
The Canadian defenceman — a two-time Norris Trophy winner with a pair of 90-point NHL seasons — often leads the rush with his Colorado Avalanche.
Makar has done the same when the opportunity has presented itself at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
When head coach Jon Cooper tweaks the country’s lines to create a spine-tingling super trio, however, the blueliner joked it’s his job to hang back.
“Gotta remember that I gotta play a little defence,” Makar quipped of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini joining forces for Canada. “It’s exciting … guys that can move around really well.”
Cooper started the men’s hockey tournament with Tom Wilson alongside McDavid and Celebrini, but has moved MacKinnon into that spot at different points in each of the last two games.
“It’s a lot of players who want the puck, and there’s only one puck out there,” Cooper said. “It depends on who we play in matchups and situations.”
But what it presents is a terrifying option for opponents, who are keenly aware Canada outscored Czechia, Switzerland and France a combined 20-3 in the preliminary round.
“They’re still getting to the net and penetrating the middle,” Makar said Sunday night after Canada’s 10-2 dismantling of the French. “It’s not like they’re just playing on the outside … it’s fun to watch.”
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“Definitely ready for whatever,” MacKinnon added of getting tapped on the shoulder to slide towards McDavid and Celebrini on the bench. “I’ll play with anybody … it’s fun playing with every single guy on this team.”
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McDavid has already set a national record for NHLers at a single Olympics with nine points — Jonathan Toews had eight at the 2010 Games — in the league’s return to the world stage following a 12-year absence.
He’s also just two points shy of tying the high-water mark of 11 at an Olympics involving the NHL, which was set by Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu in 2006.
“It’s incredible,” Makar said of McDavid. “Amazing when you get to play with a guy like that … Connor just finds different ways to create. He always finds the interior of the ice really well and then can facilitate.
“You just try and put the puck on his stick and get open.”
Celebrini, meanwhile, is tied alongside Canadian captain Sidney Crosby and Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovsky for second in the scoring race with six points, while MacKinnon is in a group with five.
“It’s fast … seeing what they do and the speed that they do it at,” Crosby said of McDavid-MacKinnon-Celebrini, who like himself are all centres and were No. 1 overall picks at the NHL draft. “They work so hard. It’s fun to see them do their thing.”
Canada, which stayed off the ice Monday and didn’t hold a media availability, finished group play as the event’s top seed and will face either Czechia or Denmark in Wednesday’s quarterfinals following the playoff qualification round.
“Everybody’s playing really, really well,” McDavid said following the France game. “The team’s playing well. We’re in a good place right now.
“We’ve got a couple more days to prepare.”
WILSON’S WORTH
The big forward went after French defenceman Pierre Crinon in the third period of Sunday’s tilt after he delivered a forearm cheap shot to MacKinnon’s face from the blindside.
The pair dropped the gloves in a fight that mostly turned into a brief wrestling match before both were sent for early showers, as per the International Ice Hockey Federation’s policy on fisticuffs.
“It’s amazing to have a guy like that,” Makar said of Wilson, a player with plenty more to offer with his hands than just punching adversaries who cross a line. “He’s not just here to fight every night. He’s a very effective player for us.”
EASY CALL
Celebrini was awarded a second-period penalty shot against France when he was hauled down on a breakaway.
The IIHF rule book allowed for any player on the roster to take it, but the tournament’s youngest player was already on the ice ready to go.
“I would have been booed out of the building if I didn’t let him shoot,” Cooper said with a grin.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
