VANCOUVER, British Columbia >> When Sharks rookie centerman Macklin Celebrini was younger, he and his older brother, Aiden, sometimes got to skate on the ice surface at Rogers Arena.

They often imagined themselves playing an NHL game in front of thousands of fans.

“It was probably (from) eight to 12,” Celebrini, a North Vancouver native, said of his age at the time. “Aiden and I would hop on the rink and battle it out.”

Celebrini was back inside the downtown Vancouver arena on Sunday. That dream of playing an NHL game on that ice surface will come true today when the Sharks play the Canucks in their final game before Christmas break.

“It’s a little weird,” Celebrini said during a 15-minute question-and-answer session with about a dozen media members inside the arena. “Skating here when I was younger, kind of trying to put myself in an NHL player’s situation or shoes and pretend to be them, and now to practice here and get ready for the game tomorrow, it’s pretty surreal.”

Celebrini’s father, Rick, used to work for the Canucks in health sciences, meaning the children would often be inside the arena for games.

“We’d kind of go into the family room, and between periods or after the game, you’d kind of peek your head out and try to see if you can see a guy or two,” Celebrini said. “I remember, I saw Sid (Crosby) one time in the hallway, and me and my brother were kind of freaking out there, and we saw the Sedins walking by and stuff.

“Those are the memories that kind of stick with you,” Celebrini said, “especially because we were big fans when we were younger.”

Celebrini will have dozens of friends and family members in attendance Monday, including his parents; Aiden, a Canucks prospect; and his two younger siblings, brother R.J. and sister Charlie. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, took some time away from Golden State’s road trip to be in Vancouver.

“Every time I was here, I’d want to skate and kind of get out on that ice just because the NHL has always been a dream of mine,” Macklin Celebrini said. “To do that as a kid was pretty cool, and tomorrow’s going to be pretty cool as well.”

It’s clear that Vancouver still holds a special place in his heart.

Celebrini might now be the San Jose Jr. Sharks’ most famous alumni, having put up staggering statistics for the South Bay youth hockey club as a 13-year-old during the 2019-2020 season.

What’s perhaps less known is how difficult it was for Celebrini at such a young age to leave his hometown for the Bay Area. Rick was given a terrific opportunity with the Warriors, then one of the NBA’s best teams, but it was still a major adjustment for a kid who only knew about life in the Lower Mainland.

“I was sad. I didn’t want to leave,” Celebrini said. “It’s my hometown and I was here my whole life, so making that move wasn’t easy.”

After spending one year in San Jose, Celebrini moved to Faribault, Minnesota, and spent two years at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a boarding school known primarily for its powerhouse hockey programs. He then spent a year with the Chicago Steel in the USHL before moving on to Boston University, where he became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player.

Right now, just 24 games into his professional career and six months removed from being the No. 1 player taken at the NHL Draft, Celebrini has already become hugely important to the Sharks with 23 points in 24 games.

“He’s already probably our best player, to be honest,” Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli said.

Macklin Celebrini’s path started in North Vancouver about 15 years ago when Rick Celebrini and his wife, Robyn, moved into the suburb. It just so happened that their new home was near the North Shore Winter Club, an expansive sports facility featuring swimming, racquet sports, fitness amenities and several sheets of ice.

The Celebrini’s didn’t set out to move close to the North Shore Winter Club, but Rick said it wound up being “our sort of cul de sac, so to speak, or our open ice or outdoor ice.

“And it was just such an incredible environment for the kids,” Rick Celebrini told ABC7 in June before the Sharks drafted Macklin. “You would drop them off there in the morning, and they would stay there, sort of a safe place that they could jump on the ice, come off, grab something to eat, jump in the pool, jump back onto the ice, and it was just such an incredible environment for them.”

The North Shore Winter Club also counts ex-Sharks players Evander Kane, Martin Jones and Sharks prospect Carson Wetsch among its alumni.

“I’ve talked a couple of times about how special that place was to me when I was younger,” Macklin Celebrini said. “It’s a big reason why I am where I am, the availability of the ice and the opportunities that it gave us.

“I don’t think there’s many places like it, so growing up, it was an amazing resource for me and all the other kids I grew up with.”

Celebrini figures to be back in Vancouver several more times in his NHL career. This first visit back, though, is unique.

“It’s my hometown,” Celebrini said when asked how much Vancouver means to him. “So, a lot.”