The Sharks made Macklin Celebrini the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Friday night, and that might not have been possible without his supermom Robyn.
When Macklin's dad, Rick Celebrini, took the job to become the Golden State Warriors director of sports medicine and performance in 2019, the Celebrinis initially had a difficult time adjusting to the Bay Area and the United States, having lived in the hockey-obsessed city of Vancouver.
Macklin played Triple-A hockey for the San Jose Jr. Sharks U14 team, but that ended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The family, who lived in San Jose at the time, was on the hunt for an ice rink where Macklin, along with his brothers Aiden, and R.J., all could practice and train.
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With most facilities shuttered, they eventually found a small rink that was open just outside of Sacramento. Robyn and the Celebrini children packed their car at 6 a.m. and made what was a five-hour roundtrip trek five days a week for several weeks.
Aiden, Macklin and R.J., along with their sister, Charlie, would do their schoolwork in the car.
When they got to the ice, the brothers worked on "self-directed skating and skill development" during what amounted to be 90-minute individual sessions.
After Robyn dropped off her sons at the rink, she would play tennis with Charlie and hit balls for at least three hours before returning to the rink to pick up the boys and head back to San Jose.
San Jose Sharks
"Like everyone, you're trying to find ice and where to train, because you didn't want to lose any ground. But looking back, it is crazy," Macklin said (h/t ESPN.com). "It's the thing that we did. That's one of the sacrifices my parents made for us. That's seven hours of their day that they're spending kind of catering to us and making sure we have everything we need.
"Looking back, it was crazy that we did that but at the time, it was our only choice."
Robyn and Rick now live in Livermore, with their son drafted to the NHL team whose team facility is 30 miles away.
They might have to make a 40-minute drive to his game, but it beats the five-hour car rides four years ago that eventually paid off.