Tag: Macklin Celebrini

San Jose Sharks surprise Macklin Celebrini by having Joe Thornton announce No. 1 overall NHL pick

A Sharks legend welcomed first overall pick Macklin Celebrini to his new team.

The San Jose Sharks made Boston University star centre and North Vancouver, Canada, native Macklin Celebrini the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft on Friday night, and the potential future face of the franchise was welcomed to his new team with a surprise.

To announce the pick, the Sharks enlisted the help of team legend Joe Thornton, who retired in 2022 and spent the bulk of his career with San Jose from 2005-20 and won both the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophies in 2006.

Thornton received quite a few cheers — from one fan in particular — as he took the stage and announced the selection of Celebrini, who Sharks fans will hope has a tenure similar to Thornton’s.

Macklin, who is 18, was named the Hockey East Player of the Year after a stellar season at Boston. He also represented Canada in the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, leading his team in scoring with four goals and four assists.

San Jose hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2019, when Thornton was still on the roster. With the top pick in the draft now on board in Celebrini, it will hope those woes end sooner rather than later.

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Who is Macklin Celebrini, the prospective No. 1 pick at the 2024 NHL Draft?

Who is Macklin Celebrini?

This weekend’s NHL Draft will send a host of new hockey prospects on a new journey for their careers, and most all of this class is waiting to hear where they’ll land.

The one outlier is former Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, who should be the first-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft for the San Jose Sharks.

The left-handed offensive prospect might not come with the same ballyhoo as last year’s top pick, Connor Bedard, but Celebrini only played a year at Boston for a reason.

He’s a pro-ready scorer who brings tantalizing upside as a future star in the league. Let’s get to know Celebrini before he most likely joins the Sharks on Friday night in Las Vegas.

First, some quick facts about Macklin Celebrini 

Date of birth: June 13, 2006
Place of birth: North Vancouver, Canada
Height and weight: 6-foot-0, 190 pounds
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
2023-24 team: Boston University (NCAA)
2023-24 stats: 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games

Celebrini hails from the same area as Bedard, and he’s just a bit bigger and taller than the Chicago Blackhawks star. He won the Hobey Baker and Tim Taylor awards in college and was named Hockey East’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Celebrini played for the USHL’s Chicago Steel in the 2022-23 season, scoring 46 goals and adding 40 assists in 50 games.

What is Macklin Celebrini’s playstyle like?

Celebrini scores a lot of goals. That’s not the only reason he will probably go first in this year’s draft, but it’s atop the list. San Jose desperately needs elite offensive players on its roster, and Celebrini would fill that gap for the Sharks.

However, his number of assists shows he’s just as good at creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. Bedard had similar success going into last year’s draft, which rounds out a prospect’s game outside of just finding the net. San Jose will get a player who has a knack for the puck in both notching goals and getting it to his fellow players.

That’s reason enough to draft someone like Celebrini, who should start as soon as he arrives.

Why is Macklin Celebrini the near-assured No. 1 pick at the 2024 NHL Draft?

Like Bedard before him, Celebrini offers the most upside as a top-six franchise scorer of any player in this class. His sole year at Boston was proof enough that Celebrini is ready for the NHL, meaning he can play right away for San Jose without having to spend any time in the AHL. There are some really good offensive players in this year’s draft, but none with the quite the promise of Celebrini. He just offers so much right away for a team.
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