Mel ✨🤍

[sisiwsmc]

will’s harem does it for shit and giggles but mack’s harem are building a cult around him with ryan lin and gavin mckenna as a new recruits

Will’s harem is like very normal like ‘that’s our guy! We would do anything for Will! Love that guy! Would I fuck him? Sure!’ Meanwhile Mack’s harem is smiling too widely like ‘that’s our guy. We would do anything for Mack. Please tell us to do anything for Mack’ and I need to see that in more fics. WSH attracts the soft type of guy while Mack attracts the crazy-about-him type which is why I always head canon Will as secretly possessive af (I know it’s not realistic but in my heart of rpf hearts it’s true 😭)

Very on brand for them I fear esp as someone who has interacted with Mack’s teenage fanboys before. They actially worship the ground Mack walks on its kinda of freaky lmao

[sidcroscakedup]

and of course we can’t forget his army of older men/father figures waiting for the perfect moment to kidnap him

[melpotter21]

I know everyone is allowed to like what they like and if that happens to be doomposting so be it but man, all this “he’s cursed”, “the perpetual loser”, “doomed by the narrative”… doesn’t it get exhausting at some point? Because it certainly does to me and I only read of it.

Where is the excitement?! The hope for the future? The enthusiasm over this young team? The thrill of watching the beginnings of a generational talent? The anticipation of what’s yet to come, what is possible?

It kinda feels like manifesting the negative. Focusing so hard on the tiny black dot you lose sight of the entire page of white paper (great experiment btw). And the haters are already going to do enough of that, I personally don’t feel the need to add to it.

[allchellies]

the fact that the official hockey canada account posted this still cracks me up because 1) they did NOT need 5+ men fussing around to make sure mack was able to safely get onto the platform and yet they were all hovering protectively anyway, and 2) the theo caption 😭 which is even funnier when you remember theo and mack were roommates

[shiningstarrie]

throwback to james hagens having a little crush on macklin celebrini

[dawg4aday]

i'm your national anthem

[melpotter21]

Kinda inspired by @willmackism’s take on this but I really do not like the Mack is a perpetual loser narrative that’s become so popular these past few months.

I understand that people love to juxtapose in fandom, paint in extremes, everything is black and white, one loser one winner, etc. but that just feels like an incredibly flat approach to me. Reducing the richness of the narrative (both Mack’s own and also in relation to Will because of course these two are connected).

Will has all the wins with his team(s) but gets overlooked again and again for individual recognition (often in favor of Mack). Mack gets all the individual recognition but still can’t power his team to victory. It’s a give and take. Both win and both lose. Now they want to win it all together. Just scratching the absolute surface here but personally I already find it a more compelling story.

And of course I understand that hockey is a team sport so the team achievement will always matter the most but Mack’s career so far is one a lot of people would kill for! He went to the Olympics at 19, became the youngest Canadian NHL Olympian ever, played on the top line with Connor McDavid, was second in points & lead the entire tournament in goals and was voted to the Olympics AllStar Team.

Yes, they fell short of the ultimate goal and I don’t doubt Mack when he says that that loss will stay with him forever (me too) but he was also the only one of his generation to even make it to the Olympics! He’s an Olympic medalist!

I’m sure if you offered some of these “winners” by popular narrative the option between all that or staying home (as they did), they’d choose silver in a heartbeat.

And that is only talking Olympics. Mack captained Team Canada at worlds at 19, captained Sidney Crosby, and has practically been designated Sid’s heir. He is the face of the Sharks franchise, the face of the rebuild. A rebuild that is looking very promising.

He is the future face of the NHL. A Ted Lindsay finalist. Sharks franchise points in a season record holder. Came in 4th in Hart voting only behind Kucherov, McDavid and MacKinnon. Again, all at 19!

IIHF Male Player of the Year, 2026 Worlds All Star, 2026 Worlds Best Forward, drafted 1oa, Youngest Hobey Baker Winner, NCAA (Hockey East) Player of the Year, NCAA (Hockey East) Rookie of the Year, NCAA (Hockey East) Scoring Champion, USHL Forward of the Year, USHL Player of the Year, USHL Rookie of the Year, Only the second ever player to be named all three in the same year and lead the USHL in both points & goals.

That’s only a small sample of Mack’s awards. It really is a very impressive (and long) list.

Perhaps most importantly though, Mack is only 19 20! He has sooo much time. His career is just starting out and yet he’s already so accomplished and respected.

That is not the narrative of a “loser”! Not in my books.

Heck, he brought the Sharks from dead last in the NHL for two consecutive seasons to within 4 points of the playoffs. At 19! In a single season! Who can even attempt to predict where he’ll be in 10 years?!

That’s when we can come back to this conversation in my opinion. But right now I am just enjoying watching the beginnings of a truly generational player and oh so excited for the future.

Disclaimer just to be safe: my opinion, you’re free to disagree.

[willmackism]

people be like, no one has ever suffered like Mack! he never wins!

may I direct these people to my cursed son Bedard whose glass shoulders and mismanagement of wing support have soured his narrative significantly. not trying to doom….but like people are saying, if anyone needs to be loved - it’s Connor B.

i have been thinking this! this exact thought has actually occurred to me multiple times as the news of bedsy’s latest (😭) shoulder injury and subsequent surgery dropped. it’s genuinely soooo so so sad to me that he’s going to be out for at least 4 months (mid-nov iirc), i did see 6+ months floating around on twitter but at least he has top tier rehab environment/resources 😭 please.. i do not want him to end up actually “injury prone” 😭💔

i’m not exactly sure why but i’m not a huge fan of the “can he be loved” narrative that has really intensified/solidified lately around mack.. like yes, it’s crushing to not win gold at the olympics, go to men’s worlds to try and redeem hockey for his beloved canada, and get eliminated once again as the 19yo captain of the team… yes, he wins every individual award but his teams can’t reach the peak where it (arguably) matters most….. hmmmm…….

like i think it’s honestly lowkey connor mcdavid stolen valor to me (cmd is VERY “can he be loved” to me like i’ve shed real tears i’ve prayed to the hockey gods to spare him his latest bout of suffering for that man lol) and also i think it’s another instance of this ongoing trend of fandom broadly generalizing and thus flattening mack (and usually will and willmack’s dynamic) in a way that allows it to be quickly & easily consumed without much deeper thought and certainly not exploration, tiktok edit style. i understand if someone thinks this take is pretentious, but that characterization richness is genuinely what makes fandom fun for me and it saddens me to see it dwindling away.. and i just don’t think of mack as that tragic, divinely tormented figurehead type!! like. he hasn’t actually suffered that much imo!! his team is viewed as a prime example of a rebuilding team around the league, they’ve placed the crown atop his teenaged head to inherit hockey canada as sid’s hand-picked protege, he has a strength & conditioning wizard for a father and a broad network of professional athletes / access to resources that not even other young guys coming into the league may have even in this very insular, intertwined hockey world…… like. he’s fine!!!! at least kyle davidson isn’t his gm!!!!

maybe it comes from a place of me missing sharksblr/fandom from rookie season, where it was bright and sunny and exciting from the sheer possibilities of the future.. but i still hold all of that optimism and more for mack’s career & growth as a player, leader, and person.. so i don’t really see him as a maligned tormented type.. for me personally!!!! i’m not against the overall concept and would totally read some future fic set 10+ years out where his career did fall in some cmd-like arc, where his individual excellence could not overcome the inadequacy of the front office & supporting cast, how that impacts the wm romantic dynamic, etc etc. but that’s just not how i see mack today in july 2026. so yeah!

[sidepoint]

the most essential and correct macklin celebrini tweet

[dawg4aday]

it brings me great joy to know that while will spends his summers in boston, training under ken whittier at BU for the third year in a row, this time he has to walk into the training room everyday and be hit with a big ass photo of his boybestfriend

[willmackism]

@/IIHFHockey: Congratulations to Macklin Celebrini, who has been named the 2026 #IIHF Male Player of the Year! 👏

The @/HockeyCanada and @/SanJoseSharks forward put up 6 goals and 8 assists at the 2026 #MensWorlds where he was named best forward of the tournament and captained Team Canada at just 19 years old. 🇨🇦

[melpotter21]

Day 171 of wishing people would stop acting like Will is the only one out of the two who’s allowed to/has other friends and Mack’s only purpose when they’re apart is to pine after Will. It’s both factually untrue and a very one-dimensional characterization.

One of the most beautiful parts of willmack is the fact that they both have other people they’re close to and yet they still are that insane about each other. Not for lack of options, not because they had to, but solely because they chose one another. And that’s honestly far more romantic in my books.

[riplore]

mack doesn’t give a fuck about bedard lol if anything he probably flew to the cape to be with will than back to vancouver

that is such a crazy thing to say…? it’s one thing to rpf, but mack has always cared about bedsy. i’ve gotten a lot of asks like this that seem to get mad that mack is allowed to have friends and fun without will and i typically just ignore them, but after bedsy’s injury it’s in even worse taste. mack is allowed to love more than one person

[melpotter21]

adding the tags here because this deserves to be said & seen. My goodness, things have really gotten out of hand.

[dailywillmack]

It’s honestly fascinating to me (and sometimes annoying, I will admit that) that the popular narrative is that Will is the charmer and every guy he so much as interacts with for a second is a new member of his harem when it really seems to me like all of those guys are guys he has known for years and kept close.

Meanwhile Mack is the one who’s walked into a new team practically every year in his junior career and still always formed new connections. He’s the one who went to the Olympics for Canada and had the entire team wrapped around his finger almost instantly. Then he went to worlds and did it pretty much all over again. They were genuinely waxing poetry about him at one point. Not to even dive too deep into the Crosby connection but come on.

We also know Mack is still close to some of his BU buddies. That they still talk and text and he went to their game and they came to some of his. That he even stayed with them at some point. And those pictures from Marmon… oh boyyy.

Honestly just tired of seeing all of Mack’s connections outside of Will getting pushed aside for the narrative. Mack might be very private (honestly most of the willmack things we learn come from others too) but with the attention for detail in this fandom I refuse to believe it’s impossible for people to notice these things. Let them both have harems!

it’s funny because I had this exact same conversation with a friend yesterday and we came to the same conclusion so I agree 100% with you on this one.

there is something about Mack that makes people want to be close to him instantly, even if he is shy and quiet at first, maybe more closed off, still his energy makes you fall in love.

It’s like you said, everywhere he went he wrapped everyone around his finger.

of course he and Will are charming but I think they are different dynamics.

let them have their own harem, it’s good for people to see that Mack has other friends besides Will because I’ve seen a lot of discourse saying that Will is his only friend when that’s not true.

[melpotter21]

Mack being hyper competitive and “too good” at something… huh, wonder where I’ve heard that one before 🙂‍↕️

Addition: Macklin “Winner” Celebrini

[melpotter21]

I’m sorry but if you keep bringing up the BC boys and/or “his harem” whenever Will so much as interacts with another guy then you actually don’t have a leg to stand on when people talk about the little hockey crushes the new guys have on Mack.

It’s one thing when people are genuinely diminishing Will and his hockey (which I know does happen and firmly stand against! However conversations are very much being conflated here!) but some rpf-ing about guys admiring Mack is not that. Imagining Stenberg and Mack getting along or even building a connection is not the same thing as replacing Will (let’s be real, no one can).

Perhaps most importantly, other people liking Mack is not hating Will because despite what some around here seem to believe, Mack is a very likeable guy! His Team Canada teammates all love him, the Sharks adore him, guys around the league respect him and the rookies look up to him. Mack is quite beloved. Yet, he still chooses Will just as Will chooses him!

And honestly, doesn’t that make their story even better? That they choose each other even when they don’t have to?

[melpotter21]

I’m going to be real for a minute here, I don’t care for all the friendship comparisons I’ve been seeing this offseason. Especially because it feels like it always turns into a BC line (/Boston circle) vs Mack thing.

Like, you all are aware that friendship is not a competition? That you can have more than one best friend? That the length of a friendship does not determine how close you are? Heck, that friendships can look totally different from one to the other but that that doesn’t mean one is better?

Take me for example, I have a best friend that I’ve known since I was literally 3 years old. And I have another best friend I’ve only known for 2 years. Guess what, both of them are my best friends and while our relationships look different (they’re different people with different wants & needs!), I couldn’t imagine my life without either one of them! And if someone tried to tell me that my friendship with the latter isn’t as close as the first because we “didn’t grow up together” or something like that, I’d laugh in their face.

That’s what a lot of you sound like to me right now.

[melpotter21]

Soo, who was going to tell me that the Canucks goalie is apparently the actual shootout goat having the highest career shootout sv% in NHL history and facing 23 shootout shots this season of which he saved all but one? Saved 22 out of 23!

The one he let in? Macklin Celebrini on April 11, 2026