Celebrini was the youngest player in NCAA Division I men’s hockey this season and the youngest to win the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player. He finished second in the NCAA with 32 goals and third with 64 points in 38 games.
He was also named Hockey East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, joining Jack Eichel (2015), Paul Kariya (1993) and Brian Leetch (1987) as the only players to win the awards in the same season.
“[Celebrini’s] a special player and he belongs in that special category because in every environment, every situation he goes in, he can excel and that’s hard to do as a 17-year-old,” NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said.
The lottery will set the order for the first 16 picks for the teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 2024 draft will reportedly be held at Sphere in Las Vegas with the first round June 28, and rounds 2-7 on June 29.
There will be two drawings, one for the No. 1 pick and one for the No. 2 pick. Once the two top picks have been established, the remaining teams will be assigned Nos. 3-16 based on inverse order of the final regular-season standings.
Additionally, teams only can move up 10 selections if it wins one of the draws. Only the top 11 teams in the lottery are eligible to receive the No. 1 selection in the 2024 draft.
Teams that don’t get the first pick will still have plenty of talent to choose from, including Michigan State University freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was No. 2 on Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters, University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium, No. 4 on Central Scouting’s final ranking, and defenseman Zayne Parekh (No. 5) of Saginaw in the Western Hockey League.
“Levshunov might be the most NHL-ready player in this draft class; a great combination of the physical maturity and composure with the way he plays the game,” Marr said. “Buium doesn’t know when to quit; he just keeps going and the consistency as a freshman, taking over as one of their top players, has been truly impressive.”
Parekh, who moved up from No. 10 in the midterm rankings, set Saginaw records for goals (33) and points (96) by a defenseman in 66 regular-season games.
Additionally, center Cayden Lindstrom of Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League is No. 3 on Central Scouting’s list. He’s been trending positively since returning to the lineup March 29 after missing 36 regular-season games while recovering from surgery for an upper-body injury.
The two top players on Central Scouting’s final ranking of international skaters could also be chosen among the top six selections: defenseman Anton Silayev of Torpedo in the Kontinental Hockey League, and forward Ivan Demidov of St. Petersburg in Russia’s minor hockey league.
Odds to win the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery:
San Jose Sharks 18.5 percent
Chicago Blackhawks 13.5 percent
Anaheim Ducks 11.5 percent
Columbus Blue Jackets 9.5 percent
Montreal Canadiens 8.5 percent
Utah 7.5 percent
Ottawa Senators 6.5 percent
Seattle Kraken 6.0 percent
Calgary Flames 5.0 percent
New Jersey Devils 3.5 percent
Buffalo Sabres 3.0 percent
Philadelphia Flyers 2.5 percent
Minnesota Wild 2.0 percent
Pittsburgh Penguins 1.5 percent
Detroit Red Wings 0.5 percent
St. Louis Blues 0.5 percent
NHL.com independent correspondent Aaron Vickers contributed to this report