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It's all but a formality at this point: the San Jose Sharks will select Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. And the 17-year-old earned high praise from the organization's director of amateur scouting earlier this week.
“Everything you read and hear about [Celebrini] is true,” Chris Morehouse said on the ‘NHL Draft Class' podcast. “We did meet with him and he's an exceptional kid. He clearly has a great foundation at home, and you can see the drive, the work ethic, the competitiveness. There's a certain look, in my opinion, that the very best have and it's not always there with everybody, and I'm sure you guys covering your hockey can see it, too.”
Certainly a glowing recommendation as Sharks general manager Mike Grier and the front office prepare for a busy NHL Draft. San Jose owns nine picks in the draft, including four in the opening two rounds, per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale.
All of those picks are up in the air except the first one, which will bring the Boston University center to California. The Sphere in Las Vegas is set to host this iteration of the event on June 28 and 29.
The Sharks' scouting lead added: “This is the thing working with Grier and the Sharks organization is, you put the kids first and make sure that they're going to be put in the best situation to develop and grow. The reality is everyone's going to develop differently, and it's just that their paths are a little bit different. When we look at [Celebrini] and other players, we're trying to get to know how they tick, what makes them operate, and everyone you talk to is just a little bit different.”
But first, Celebrini will fully participate in the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine this Saturday at the Keybank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo. “The combine will allow NHL teams an opportunity to conduct interviews and provide physical and medical assessments of the top prospects eligible for the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft,” per NHL.com.
Macklin Celebrini will join Will Smith as future of Sharks
Along with Will Smith, who was drafted No. 4 overall by the Sharks in 2023, the two dynamic forwards figure to run the show down the middle in San Jose for the next decade.
Both players absolutely ripped up NCAA hockey, Celebrini as the youngest player in Division 1 men's hockey this year, per Morreale. He finished second in the league with 32 goals and third in points, amassing 64 in just 38 games. He was also the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker, recognizing the top skater in college hockey each season.
Smith was in the same tier in 2023-24, putting up 25 goals and 71 points of his own in 41 games with Boston College. He figures to make the team straight out of training camp, along with Celebrini.
What that means is that the Sharks, who were far and away the worst team in the NHL in 2023-24, will again be relevant come October.
