LAS VEGAS — Macklin Celebrini is a member of the San Jose Sharks.
The club delivered as expected at Sin City's glamorous Sphere Hall on Friday, selecting the Vancouver-born centre with the top pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Celebrini just finished a season at NCAA Boston College where he scored 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games and became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey.
The 18-year-old is no stranger to Northern California since his father, Rick, moved with his family to the area when he took a job with the NBA's Golden State Warriors in 2018.
“To be officially recognized is an amazing feeling,” Celebrini said. “It's been a dream of mine since I was a child.”
The Sharks are the first team in franchise history to have the No. 1 pick in the draft. San Jose has had the No. 2 pick three times, most recently in 1997 with Patrick Marleau.
After Celebrini left the stage, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Artyom Levshunov with the second pick, and the Anaheim Ducks selected Beckett Senneke with the third pick.
The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Kayden Lindstrom with the fourth pick, while the Montreal Canadiens selected Ivan Demidov with the fifth pick. The Utah Hockey Club selected Tizi Iginla sixth overall. The Ottawa Senators selected Carter Yachemchuk with the seventh pick, the Seattle Kraken selected Barkley Catton with the eighth pick, the Calgary Flames selected Zayn Parekh with the ninth pick and Anton Shiraev was selected 10th by the New Jersey Devils.
Iginla, the son of Calgary Flames legend Jerome Iginla, is a member of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.
Celebrini's busy 2023-24 season included playing for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships and helping Boston University reach the NCAA's Frozen Four tournament.
The Sharks are in full rebuild mode after a long period of continued success. The team promoted assistant coach Ryan Worsofsky, 36, to the top spot behind the bench earlier this month after firing David Quinn shortly after San Jose finished the season in 32nd place.
