#macklin studies

That was the first big hit Will received in the NHL. I’m not talking about a split lip, a bloody nose, a chipped tooth, or a twisted ankle—I’m talking “there’s no blood but something hurts and it hurts a lot. something’s very wrong and I don’t know what”.

That’s far scarier. If there’s blood you can at least tell how severe the injury is. Internal damage? Will hit his ribs, arm, and head on the way down.

I can assure you the first thing he asked the doctors was something along the lines of “what’s wrong + can you fix it + can I still play + what’s the recovery time”

So, answering your question: by the time the game ended and Mack got back to Will, I’m assuming doctors already gave Will a rundown. Mack would be more anxious than Will.

That video of them walking back to the locker rooms after OT? Everyone was jumping and cheering, Mack was tense and sighing. Post game interviews? That boy was on the verge of an anxious breakdown.

Someone will need to calm Mack down, let him know he didn’t just witness the end of his best friend’s career. After that, someone needs to make sure Will doesn’t develop a fear of being hit during games (please)

They'd been facing each other for years by the time he got to BC, and Mack had won literally all (Chicago Steel vs NTDP) games leading up the NCAA.

Imagine being Will, and this guy you can’t fucking shake is beating your ass every time you play against each other. And then, when you finally go to college to continue the family tradition, HE’S THERE. AGAIN.

This random Canadian guy who keeps beating your ass, who befriended your best friend (Gabe) one random summer, is now in BOSTON?? OF ALL PLACES. He’s in YOUR home, he’s in the walls??

And once more, you have to play against him.

But it gets worse.

Because with every game, it becomes more and more obvious that this kid is going first. It doesn’t even matter who else is getting drafted that year. Mack is simply better. He’ll go first overall.

And then Will is nominated for the Hobey. And then MACKLIN fucking WINS IT.

And then Will is on the First All-American 2024 Team. And who is also in it?? Macklin.

And then, Will leads the NCAA in points, is named 'Statistical Champion', but all everyone can talk about is Macklin Celebrini.

AND BC loses the Beanpot semifinals against BU. Will loses what was possibly the most important tournament (at least in terms of sentimentality) he'd played so far in his LIFE. Against some Canadian child that keeps commenting on his friends' instagram posts.

Perhaps worst of all though, is that most fans and critics at the time thought Will should stay at BC for another year, claiming "he was not ready for the NHL yet". Even though Mike Grier (Sharks GM) contacted Will's agent (Sean Coffey) after the National Championship saying he thought Will was ready to come out of college and try his luck.

So they asked Will what HE wanted to do.

Except it wasn't exactly a choice, it was more of an ultimatum. Because Macklin wouldn’t take another NCAA season, and staying behind while Mack spearheaded the rebuild would most likely land him in the AHL.

So, Will kinda had to go.

And Mack going to the Sharks truly did influence his decision. The Draft lottery happened on May 7th and Will made the decision to sign on May 3rd, a few days earlier, but Mack was already having meetings with Mike Grier.

Will officially signed right before leaving for the IIHF - on May 8th, one day after the Draft - you do the math.

Sean Coffey literally said:

I told Will 'you can't let the fate of a ping pong ball determine that decision for you'. I had to encourage him to make the best decision for himself, regardless of what might happen at the lottery.

But, when your competition is Macklin Celebrini, you either join him or you lose.

So, Will signs.

And Will texts Mack.

Not much, but just enough to avoid it being awkward when they inevitably meet again,

And then, at rookie camp?

Mack was closed off. Nervous and quiet.

In Will’s own words:

“He [Macklin] was all quiet at the start. I opened him— he opened up real quick.” - never offside podcast (19:41)

To summarise, idk man.

I don't think Will was grieving Mack's distance, and I don't think Mack was being purposefully distant. I think circumstances made them into rivals and they never had much of a reason to become friends, especially when they were both talented enough to be a threat.

First things first anon, I need you to write a fic and send it to me. 10/10 writing happening here

I will say I do recognise some traits in Mack that could easily lead people to believe he could be autistic (ie: monotone voice, hyperfixation/one-track mindset, many tics/stimming, apparent moments of dissociation, those 'spazzing out' episodes his friends allude to, often looking to others for cues before laughing or approaching new people, hood up/beanie on at all times + aversion to any kinds of jewelry, rituals (meticulously taping his stick every game and starting over at the smallest imperfection), bluntness…)

That said, would I be bold enough to diagnose him as such? Probably not. I think most of his awkwardness can be traced back to the camera/crowd/celebrity of it all, and him being an impulsive and single-minded guy. Maybe he's just a strange lil dude who gets awkward having 40 people with mics, 13 light rings, and 7 cameras pointed in his direction. I don't know enough about this man to diagnose anything. I haven't seen him in a truly comfortable environment or interacting with friends without a camera on him to say

I can't say I've seen many people describe him as aloof, though. I've always seen people referring to him as the overly emotional one of the pair/team (but maybe that's just my algorithm? idk). I agree with you on that anyway -- Mack is emotional and very sensitive. I don't see how anyone would think otherwise

(I mean, we've seen him almost crying after bad games, sometimes looking numb due to the guilt he thinks he's meant to carry for failing the team, getting offended over stupid jokes, getting flustered at the tiniest hint of a genuine compliment, seeking approval from just about anyone he cares about, going feral in the penalty box, firing the whole team up and leading them to a win, being giddy at practices, giggling nonstop around friends -- you don't do any of that if you're apathetic or distant)

As for the RPF side of things:

In the scenario they acted on their feelings, I agree Mack would likely make the first move. Maybe after months/years of bottling up feelings and knowing they're not unrequited, he'd snap.

In this situation (Will also having feelings for Mack but refusing to acknowledge them because being queer wouldn't even cross his mind), I think Mack would reach a breaking point where the lingering looks and soft touches and constant dates (even if neither called them that) would become too much to bear and carry alone; it would bubble over.

They'd get back to the hotel room after celebrating a win, one too many drinks in them, Will would plop down on Mack's bed, and Mack would just stand there. The hesitation would last all of 2 seconds before he'd go 'fuck it' and kissed Will.

I think Will would kiss back without a thought. Because yes of course this was happening why wouldn't it, in fact he can't think of a good reason why they hadn't done it sooner.

Alcohol and instinct would take the wheel until next morning. Will would then wake up, still in his suit, dry sweat and beer on his shirt, Mack passed out and drooling on his chest.

The first thought would be 'it's fine, we were drunk. people do stupid things when they're drunk'. The second would send him into a panic. 'I'm not drunk now. I'd do it again'

After that, I honestly don't know if he'd run to the bathroom and pray until he ran out of ways to apologise to God, or feel so guilty he'd immediately take off the chain, no longer feeling worthy or pure enough to deserve wearing it

If they never acted on their feelings, however

Mack would carry it to the grave and know better than to try and shatter the (very flimsy) illusion Will had built around their friendship to try and excuse all their behaviours.

They're both pining and yearning and touching and looking and sharing every waking minute together, but it's never given the label or called what it is.

Will would live with a heaviness in his chest he couldn't quite name or place, never shaking it or understanding why it was there to begin with when he'd been nothing but good and pure of soul in the ways that matter. Going to church would leave him queasy and he'd insist on telling Mack all about the girls he'd hook up with, aware that it somehow soothed him to discuss girls with Mack and see him nod and laugh along.

And Mack would, every time. Nod and laugh along because he understood they were both feeling equally nauseous and queasy, even if he was alone in having given it the actual reason.

Will would hover and hold him and hug him and pick him up for lunch and buy matching clothes because they were best friends, because he loved Mack. And Mack would hug back and text at all hours and spend the summers and holidays with him because they were best friends and he could admit they were in love.

It would weigh him down, and more often than not he'd wish to be equally God-fearing enough that he'd remain oblivious to the 'sin', but he'd never say anything.

They would both be aware, each in their own way.

Mack would carry the knowledge. Will would carry the guilt. And both would live forever with something unspoken rattling in the background

So Will would keep smiling softly at Mack, staring for too long, inviting him over, booking dinner reservations for two, and tapping his goddamn ass after a goal, right there on the ice where thousands could see. Because why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t he.

"Physical contact alone, as in the history of sex between straight-identified white men documented, does not confirm the nature or intention of a man’s desire, let alone, his sexual identity, and the absence of physical contact confirms nothing. Professional wrestler John Cena says: a hard-on is just ‘what the body does’." (Chow, 2021)

Walk with me

They would’ve both gone through the same thing at a similar pace, I believe—developing feelings and whatnot—but Mack (despite the internalised homophobia and fear that’d inevitably come with being a closeted queer boy in the NHL in today’s political climate) would’ve at least read between the lines of his repression. He’d recognise what was happening. He's too self-aware not to—too in tune with his body and its limits not to notice his pulse quickening when Will sits too close.

Sure, he would’ve preferred if it never happened at all, but he could admit that it had. If only to himself.

Will, however, would NOT read between the lines; he can’t see the lines. He was never handed the book in the first place.

I think that, in this case, Mack would understand Will’s ignorance wouldn’t come from a place of stupidity/bigotry, nor an attempt to pretend he wasn’t equally as neck deep in shit.

"One might argue that misogynistic and homophobic male bonding in the locker room is an attempt to disavow the overt homoeroticism of the space." (Chow, 2021)

I think Mack would see through the all-American, church-going, God-fearing, rich conservative jock and understand he wouldn't be consciously sweeping the ‘sinful stuff’ under the rug, but actually not sweeping at all—because Will doesn’t consider himself capable of ‘sinning’ in the first place. Not in that way.

So, nothing to sweep; nothing to hide.

And then, when Will inevitably got with the program, he'd be capable of recognising those feelings hadn't just spawned overnight, but that he'd been carrying them around for months.

Publicly, I don't think anything would change—nothing like suddenly sitting farther apart and pointedly looking away—that would only make it seem as though they'd been doing it 'romantically' up until that point. Privately, there would be a new tension neither would acknowledge. They'd fight tooth and nail to keep things 'normal'.

A never-ending game of chicken—if you don't sit close to me on the couch, if you refuse to hang out one-on-one, if you suddenly room with someone else on roadies—then you're the first one making it weird. A Thing. An issue. Gay.

Hugs and touches and looks don’t have to be gay unless one of them suddenly starts acting like they are.

So. As of today, December 7th 2025, if they were attracted to each other in any capacity, they'd both be aware. The oxymoron of it all would reside in acting 'gay' to highlight their straightness: "We're so comfortable in our heterosexuality that we can kiss and spin and lovingly stare at each other on live TV as a sign of brotherhood."

I don't think anything else would make sense.

Neither of them would be willing to risk so much.

So Will would keep smiling softly, staring, plopping down on Mack’s bed to scroll on TikTok, holding him too tight after a goal…

And Mack would take it like a champ; and to the goddamn grave.

To summarise: if they fell, they dragged each other down—Mack would simply notice sooner.

They would carry it in silence and pretend like nothing had changed. Because if they stopped all the touch and closeness, that’d be far more incriminating. They'd never say it out loud—they'd sit even closer together as a way to convince themselves that they were successfully being 'normal'.

REFERENCES

Magrath, R., & Anderson, E. (2022). Sport, Masculinities, and Heteronormativity. En L. A. Wenner (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society (1.a ed., pp. 889-906). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519011.013.47

Chow, B. D. V. (2021). Epistemology of the locker room: A queer glance at the physical culture archive. Contemporary Theatre Review, 31(1–2), 74–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10486801.2021.1878505

Hello again anon,

Side note: The colour coding is mostly for me. I find it easier to edit long posts that way but do let me know if you'd prefer I stop in future asks

I'm gonna start with Will's side of things to change things up a bit (and I love discussing faith and religion)

I do agree that Will's faith is an element HRPF has heavily leaned into, seeing as it really does make for good angst in fics/headcanons and what not. Also, the fact that many people in fandom spaces come from religious contexts and have dealt with guilt themselves plays an important part.

Either way, it is undeniable that he's still very much religious, but perhaps he did shift from catholic to christian.

Whether that can be traced back to the busy NHL schedule or the fact that, at the end of the day, we're talking about a young guy with all the money in the world and little supervision who's surrounded by 99% men, is up for discussion.

Further than that, I think Will has always been a guy who picks and chooses the bits of religion that suit his faith and disregards the rest (like many pro male athletes in team sports who started young).

He looks to be a person who finds comfort in the thought of a higher power/entity looking out for him, having someone to pray to during hard times, but is not willing to voluntarily give up Sunday mornings or premarital sex for it. If there's a rule he doesn't fuck with, he'll dismiss it (I think).

Thing is, alongside getting to pick which things he deems 'enough' to be devout (pray before games, wear a cross around his neck, and overall believe in the existence of God), also comes picking and choosing which sins are truly 'bad' (for instance: premarital sex, not attending mass every Sunday, lying, drinking under the legal age, gossiping, masturbation, watching porn -- are fine. But, homosexuality is not)

Again, hockey culture plays a part. His dad didn't play and, as far as I know, neither did his grandparents. Perhaps he would've grown to be a devout catholic had he not played sports/played a different one. Who knows.

The fact remains: no matter how lax you are with faith, Christianity is not a fan of homosexuality. The church is very homophobic, it's one of its most prevalent axioms, so even if Will isn't Catholic, the guilt he'd feel over having feelings/being attracted to a man would most definitely be crippling.

Has his faith been played up for RPF? Probably. But he's still a conservative, christian, would-be frat boy surrounded by friends who support MAGA and deep into hockey culture. Not to mention he compulsively follows every hot girl he comes across and spammed Kai Trump until she followed back -- being queer would 'ruin' life as he knows it.

I don't know what values his family has regarding the LGBTQ+ community, but I can almost guarantee they're the sort to say "we're fine with it, we just don't want to see it" and "I don't understand why it's being shoved down our throats, everything is woke now, pushing an agenda" and "as long as it's kept away from the kids, I don't care what you do" and "I don't understand why they need a whole month to celebrate who they sleep with"

The kind of homophobia that disguises itself as acceptance and silently creep under your skin until you've developed an aversion to all things queer without noticing. The kind that has you saying "why does everything have to be gay nowadays? I just want to enjoy a show" thinking you're being incredibly reasonable.

And because these people think of themselves as allies, their homophobia is internalised and often undetected.

This (and more) is why I believe that if Will were queer, he would not only take it to the grave, but never even realise. He wouldn't let himself realise. He'd remain oblivious to the real reason as to why he's always sitting on men's laps, touching Mack, taking him out to lunch, hugging him at any given opportunity, easily forgiving him for breaking his fucking windshield, as an unconscious defense mechanism.

Because I truly do believe that if he ever admitted to himself he's attracted to men, he'd break down.

The fear of being queer in the NHL, the hypervigilance that would come with overanalysing every word/move he makes in case someone notices something has changed, the guilt of religion and lying to friends and family, the pain of hearing homophobic locker room talk and having to laugh along like he did before, the paranoia of "they'd hate me if they knew, they'd kick me out, they wouldn't want me here, they'd never be comfortable with a queer in the locker room" and subsequent self-hatred.

NOW ONTO MACK (jesus christ i'm sorry for this thesis)

It might've been the wording again, but it sounds as though you perceive Mack to be somewhat Machiavellian? I'm also not sure where you stand on Mack being autistic, but I'm very curious about what you've said because I don't think I've ever seen anyone describe him as you have

Do you have any specific moments in mind (other than the windshield) that made you think he willfully ignores cues? I also don't think I've seen any out of pocket quotes, but maybe that's because I only joined the Sharks fandom this summer.

Either way, it is true that consistently being the best in any team you join shapes you as a person. Rick's parenting and Mack's own one-track mind have made him into the player he is today, but I'd argue he's not the only one in those locker rooms with such a discipline -- especially once he got to college (ie: the Hughes brothers being sons to hockey players and having to meet very high expectation from an early age, especially from their father).

Socially, Mack's homeschooling plays a part. Up until he was 14(ish?), he'd focused on hockey and his social circle was reduced to boys who also lived and breathed for hockey. He's been brought up to value discipline, talent, and success.

Additionally, having moved as much as he has and spending so little time in each team, eventually a kid learns not to get too attached. He's barely been a part of the same team for longer than 2 years in his life. Having to pack up and leave is harder if you have people you'll miss, and I think that's a lesson he learnt with Ella (his ex gf) for example, seeing as they broke up just before the draft and I suspect it had to do with not wanting a long-distance relationship.

He's close to Will because they're the same age(ish), they shared the experience of being a rookie, and they knew each other beforehand -- that subconsciously makes Will someone 'safer' to get attached to.

Will was one of the only (if not THE only) people to be there twice. A constant when everything else changed. He was in Boston when Mack moved and started a new chapter of his life, and he was in San Jose when Mack moved and started a new chapter of his life.

Everyone else stayed behind at home or school or college, moved to a different state, or got drafted to a different team. Will was there, and stayed there. Not only that, but it was Will who made the effort to become friends -- Will DM'ed him after the draft, Will approached him at rookie camp and got him to open up, Will volunteered to pick him up every morning…

But this is not particular to Mack. Most players aren't attached to more than a couple guys in any way that matters.

Mack has a good relationship with Will, Toff, Asky, Delly, and seemingly Reavo (not to mention Jumbo's family and, apparently, Connor Bedard). Will has Toff, Delly, the Marleaus, Ryan Leonard, Will Vote, and Gabe Perrault.

I'd say they're quite even having in mind I have no clue if Mack still talks to any college friends.

I also don't think I've recognised any destructive/team destabilising quirks? Nothing I haven't seen in other players, anyway. His spacing out moments are comparable to Quinn Hughes', his (few) violent outbursts are something we've seen across 90% of the League, and his attitude post-game also matches what we see from other players.

The moments of 'playing the good teammate' can be due to being given so much responsibility. He has a team to carry and he knows it. Players don't need to love and be fond of one another, they need respect and understanding. They know Mack is good, the best of the Sharks, he has the A for a reason, so they listen.

As for him bottling his emotions, I do think it affects him, but I also think he's too focused on winning to let it affect anyone else's game.

He has a history of taking blame for things outside his control when games don't go well, shielding teammates he's not even close to. He's first and last on the ice during training and other players really do value his input.

He is emotional, yes, but as far as I know, never in a way that's hindered the (Sharks) game -- if anything, his emotions have won them games (ie: Pittsburgh).

He's sensitive and socially awkward, he doesn't like giving interviews or doing challenges. He perhaps can't take a joke without getting a little offended and becomes very blunt/dry when uncomfortable, but again, nothing we don't see from other players and it's never been an issue on the ice (as far as I'm aware)

He's there to play, not entertain -- I believe that's his mentality.

He has a couple good friends, the respect of his team, and he doesn't need much more nor is he interested in being friends with every guy in there. So why fake it?

If you haven't perceived warmth when he talks to some of the guys, it's likely because there isn't any. Most NHL players are purely professional colleagues, their relationships are transactional and situational -- without a contract they wouldn't hang out, but they need each other to win, and so respect and trust is needed. I think Mack has shown to respect and trust his team thus far

Holy ramble. Sorry for the dissertation