SI:AM | The NHL’s Next Can’t-Miss Draft Pick

Macklin Celebrini will undoubtedly be the No. 1 pick in Friday’s draft.

It's no secret that Boston University's superstar freshman is the prize pick this year. / Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I can’t believe how terrible the Yankees have been lately. 

In today’s SI:AM: 

🏈 NFL bounce-back candidates
🏀 Bronny to L.A.
😬 Worries for Phillies?

This guy is going to be good

The 2024 NHL draft begins Friday night in Las Vegas and it’s no secret who the San Jose Sharks will be taking with the No. 1 pick. 

Macklin Celebrini has been the consensus top prospect in the class for over a year now. This year’s draft lottery was very much a contest to see who would have the right to take the Boston University freshman with the first pick, and now the time has finally come. 

Since winning the lottery, the Sharks haven’t tried to hide the fact that they’ll be taking Celebrini. Asked immediately after the lottery if the Sharks would take Celebrini, San Jose general manager Mike Grier replied, “I would think so, yeah.”

Speaking with the media after the Sharks introduced Ryan Warsofsky as their new head coach earlier this month, Grier was asked about how the team planned to develop its unnamed No. 1 pick. Grier inadvertently confirmed that the pick would be Celebrini. 

“First we’ll meet with Macklin and his family. If it is Macklin. Did I say Macklin?” Grier said. “We’ll meet with his agents and his family and just try to decide what’s best for him and his development.”

Celebrini is almost as much of a can’t-miss prospect as Connor Bedard was before last year’s draft. Celebrini just turned 18 years old on June 13. He was the youngest player in NCAA men’s hockey this season—and also the best. He had 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games this season, ranking second nationally in scoring and third in points, and became just the fourth freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s version of the Heisman.

Celebrini’s skill is undeniable. He’s a strong skater who controls the puck exceptionally well and has an accurate shot. He also may be extraordinarily young for an elite pro prospect, but he has the size (6'0", 200 pounds) to hang with players much older than him. 

Beyond the physical tools, the Sharks are also enamored with Celebrini’s attitude. 

“When you sit down with him for two minutes, you really feel his drive and competitiveness. It just seeps out of him,” Grier told the Associated Press this week. “He’s a driven kid. He’s an alpha.”

Celebrini’s confidence in pro-sports settings comes from growing up in Vancouver around elite athletes. His father, Rick, is a former professional soccer player who worked as a trainer for several big-name athletes, including Steve Nash, who was so close with the Celebrini family that Macklin and his siblings called him “Uncle Steve.” (Rick now works in the Bay Area as the director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors, so he’ll be just up the road when Macklin goes to San Jose.) Rick also worked with NHL players, including goalie Mike Smith and longtime Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler, and Macklin and his older brother Aiden got to share the ice with the pros. 

“Working with Smith and Kesler at the North Shore Winter Club, those are vivid memories,” Macklin told The Athletic in November. “Being on the ice with two NHL players, they were dealing with their injuries and rehabbing, but it was so special for a young kid to be able to see that. You watch them every night on TV and with Ryan, he played for the hometown team so I idolized him.”

Celebrini will be joining a Sharks team that was downright dreadful last season. They went 19-54-9 for a total of just 47 points, posting the worst record in a full 82-game season since the 1999–2000 Atlanta Thrashers managed just 39 points in their first season in the league. San Jose ranked second-to-last in goals scored (2.20 per game) and dead last in goals allowed (4.04 per game). Celebrini won’t be able to turn the team around on his own (Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks know all about that) but he’ll at least give Sharks fans something worth watching next season. 

If LeBron James decides to stick with the Lakers in free agency, he and Bronny could be the NBA's first father-son duo to play together. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

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The top five…

… things I saw last night: 

5. The unusual play for the final out of this minor league game. 
4. A funky catch by Braves prospect Darius Vines. 
3. Jewell Loyd’s 34 points on 10-of-15 shooting. 
2. Savannah James’s Instagram post after the Lakers drafted Bronny. 
1. Folarin Balogun’s stunning goal for the USMNT in the Copa America. Panama won the game, though, thanks in large part to U.S. forward Tim Weah’s early red card.