Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini is widely expected to be the first pick in the 2024 NHL … [+]
For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks will be picking first overall at the 2024 NHL Draft.
And the consensus top prospect, Macklin Celebrini, already has ties to their community and their organization.
Macklin spent the 2019-20 season playing for the San Jose Jr. Sharks after his father, Rick Celebrini, signed on as the director of sports medicine and performance for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Previously, Rick worked as a physiotherapist for his hometown Vancouver Canucks, where Macklin and his older brother Aiden caught the hockey bug.
“His dad saved me from two hip surgeries, rehabbing both my hips,” said Sportsnet hockey analyst and former Canuck Kevin Bieksa. “He did that for Manny Malhotra, Ryan Kesler, a lot of us in Vancouver.”
As for the boys, “I still remember those two rolling around on the ice,” Bieksa said. “They just love the game. And I’ve seen Macklin play for the Jr. Sharks when he was there, watching with Rick in the stands. He looks good in teal.”
Part of the ritual of the annual draft lottery is for fanbases to calculate their teams’ odds and dare to dream. Recently, that process that has been complicated by new conditions that had been added, including that a team can no longer move up more than 10 spots. That makes the No. 1 selection unreachable for the bottom five lottery participants, and increases the chances for the teams at the very bottom of the standings.
This year, the math was moot. For the first time since 2010, the selections unfolded in the exact order of the non-playoff teams’ finishes in the regular-season standings.
After moving up two spots with their lottery win in 2023 and selecting Connor Bedard — who, like Celebrini, hails from North Vancouver and grew up as a fan of the Canucks — the Chicago Blackhawks held steady with the second selection in 2024.
Though the lottery drawing itself was short on drama, the televised unveiling was a slicker production than we’ve seen in the past. Co-hosted by ESPN’s John Buccigross and Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino, there was very little emphasis on the machinations of the selection process and no accountant on hand to verify the results.
Instead, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made a brief appearance to officially announce that the 2024 Draft will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29, marking the first live televised event from the technological marvel. And as usual, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly unveiled the draft order.
In a twist from previous years, a calm and composed Celebrini was on hand at the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., breaking down tape and talking about his emotions on a day that ultimately charts his course for the future.
The general managers of the lottery teams were on hand via video link, and Sharks GM Mike Grier seemed just as excited that he has a chance to draft a fellow Boston University Terrier as he was about the skillset that the youngest Hobey Baker Award winner in NCAA history could bring to the Sharks.
“I think he’s a 200-foot player, which is rare for someone who is offensively gifted as he is,” Grier said. “As a 17-year-old, he plays a real complete game on both ends of the ice. He cares and I love his competitiveness.”
While Grier’s first pick is a virtual lock, he also holds pick No. 14 as part of the package the Sharks received when they sent Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer. There will be plenty of volatility around that selection, and the rest of the picks for the lottery teams. According to longtime draft guru Bob McKenzie of TSN, scouts seem to have a general consensus on which players belong in the top 15. But beyond Celebrini in the top spot, they’re all over the map on what should happen next.
Teams will have one more big chance to gather data before making their draft selections. The 2024 NHL Scouting Combine will feature physical testing and interview opportunities. It runs from June 2-8 in Buffalo, NY.
