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Young Devils, Sharks Stars Steal Spotlight With Overtime Hat Tricks

Emerging young stars from the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks stole the spotlight by making history with rare overtime hat tricks, giving the teams a glimpse of just how bright their futures can be.
Samuel Len|
Nov 18, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) skates with the puck during the first period against the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Nov 18, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) skates with the puck during the first period against the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

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San Jose SharksNew Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks might not be the NHL’s most polished teams yet, but they’ve quickly become two of the league’s most exciting. Both franchises are stacked with young talent, and both are building around players who weren’t just drafted high. Simon Nemec, taken second overall in 2022, and Macklin Celebrini, selected first overall in 2024, had the kind of nights that remind you why the future feels so bright in both markets.

Scoring a hat trick in the NHL is already one of the coolest, most impressive achievements a player can pull off. And with how often teams pull their goalies these days, you see more hat tricks finished off with empty-netters than ever. Still fun, still loud, but not quite the same as watching a player shoot the puck past the goalie.

The most dramatic way to score a hat trick in the NHL? Completing it with an overtime winner. It almost never happens — which is exactly why nights like these feel so special.

Simon Nemec’s Breakout Week

For a while, some Devils fans were starting to lose faith in their highly-touted prospect. Nemec looked steady, sure, but not like a second-overall pick destined to reshape the franchise. Then one week in November flipped the conversation completely.

On November 10, he tied the game with under five seconds left in regulation in what became a 3–2 overtime loss to the Islanders. A day later, on November 12, he had a hat trick — scoring the game-tying goal and the overtime winner — in a 4–3 classic against the Blackhawks. That Saturday, November 15, he capped off the week by scoring the shootout winner against Washington.

His career-defining performance against Chicago was a three-act comeback. The Devils fell behind 2–0 on goals from Connor Bedard and Landon Slaggert, but Nemec single-handedly pulled them back. He scored late in the second with Bedard stick checking him, tied the game with less than four minutes left in the third, and completed the overtime hat trick after grabbing a stretch pass from goalie Jacob Markstrom and snapping it past Spencer Knight.

Nemec became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a hat trick and an overtime goal in the same game, the ninth defenseman ever to do it, and the first since Jakob Chychrun in 2021. Has public sentiment around a young player ever flipped faster than Simon Nemec?

Macklin Celebrini’s Legendary Moment

On November 18, a night where we saw three hat tricks scored across the NHL, the most jaw-dropping belonged to the teenager playing long after most fans went to bed. If you missed it live, you missed the moment a star felt fully realized. A player recently compared to Sidney Crosby on Spittin’ Chiclets played exactly like one.

Celebrini scored twice in the first six minutes of the game — finishing a slick passing play with Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev, then torching Vitek Vanecek on a breakaway. Utah stormed back thanks to two third period goals from JJ Peterka, forcing overtime and setting up something we almost never get to see: hat trick bids on both sides.

With 2:09 left in OT and Utah penalized for too many men, Celebrini ripped home the winner to complete his hat trick in storybook fashion. It marked his third career hat trick and made him the second player this season with more than one — alongside his friend Connor Bedard, who notched his own hat trick that same night while wearing a letter for the first time in his NHL career. He also became just the fourth teenager in NHL history to reach 30 points in 20 games or fewer, joining Gretzky, Lemieux, and Crosby.

Overtime hat tricks almost never happen, so getting two in less than a week shows how wild this NHL season has been so far. Nemec’s night was historic, as he became the first defenseman since 2021 and only the ninth player in league history to complete a hat trick in overtime. Celebrini’s scored all three of San Jose’s goals, with the third coming in an overtime where Peterka was chasing a hat trick of his own.

Moments like these don’t show up often so it's important to appreciate and enjoy them when they do. Will we get to see more overtime hat trick this season?

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Sam Len
SAMUEL LEN

Sam Len is a content editor, writer, and digital strategist with a lifelong passion for hockey. Growing up just north of Toronto, the game was never just background noise—it was part of everyday life. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the first team that captured his imagination, and he still remembers watching Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal at the 2010 Olympics like it was yesterday. Over time, his love for the sport expanded to include the Tampa Bay Lightning, blending his appreciation for classic grit with modern speed and skill. Between 2024 and 2025, Sam worked as a content editor at Covers, where he helped shape sports and gaming content for top-tier brands including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Bet99. He’s also written for Bolts by the Bay and Pro Football Network, covering everything from Tampa Bay Lightning analysis to trending stories across the NHL, NFL, and NBA.

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