The 2024 NHL Draft takes place from the Las Vegas Sphere in late June. However, Tuesday evening saw the league confirm the order for the first 16 selections of its annual entry draft. The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery is now in the books, and we know that the San Jose Sharks will have the first shot to draft Boston University star Macklin Celebrini.
This marks the first time that San Jose has held the first pick in the NHL Draft. They have picked second overall three times, most recently in 1997. Here is the complete order of the first 16 picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, as determined by Tuesday's lottery.
- San Jose Sharks
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Montreal Canadiens
- Utah
- Ottawa Senators
- Seattle Kraken
- Calgary Flames
- New Jersey Devils
- Buffalo Sabres
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Minnesota Wild
- San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Detroit Red Wings
- St. Louis Blues
Macklin Celebrini is the favorite to go #1
The prize of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery is Boston University star Macklin Celebrini. He entered the 2023-24 season as a candidate to go first overall. And his play on the ice has more than helped his case. Celebrini looks like a potential franchise cornerstone for the Sharks to build around.
Celebrini was a star in the United States Hockey League for the Chicago Steel in 2022-23. He scored 46 goals and 86 points in just 50 games that year. The Vancouver native then committed to play college hockey for Boston University. He again turned in an incredible performance, scoring 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games.
Celebrini racked up numerous awards for his efforts. This includes the Hobey Baker Award, which is awarded to the best men's college hockey player for any given season. The Vancouver native became the first Boston University player to win the award since current Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel in 2015.
Other 2024 NHL Draft Lottery notes
Macklin Celebrini is not the only highly touted prospect in this class. US National Team Development winger Cole Eiserman is the best pure goal scorer in the class. He was even considered as a potential first-overall pick early in the season, as well. Russian forward Ivan Demidov and Medicine Hat Tigers star Cayden Lindstrom are others who should hear their names called early in the 2024 NHL Draft.
There are some things regarding the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery for fans to be aware of. First, the sixth overall pick belonging to the Utah NHL franchise. This pick originally belonged to the Arizona Coyotes. However, the Coyotes are considered an inactive franchise by the league. Arizona's draft picks, players, and other hockey operations staff have been transferred to this new Utah NHL franchise.
The next piece of business involves some trades. The San Jose Sharks hold two picks in the lottery, the first overall pick and the 14th selection. San Jose owns the first selection outright. However, the 14th pick is one they received from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Erik Karlsson trade last summer.
Finally, the Ottawa Senators are worth a mention here. Ottawa must forfeit either their 2024, 2025, or 2026 first-round pick as a result of the invalid Evgenii Dadonov trade from March 2022. The Senators have 24 hours after the conclusion of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery to decide whether they will invalidate this year's selection.
The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery is now in the books. It is officially time to fire up your NHL Mock Drafts and speculate who will go where next month. It'll certainly be interesting to see how Macklin Celebrini performs with the Sharks, assuming he is the first overall selection as expected.
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