The NHL offseason is now in full swing with the 2024 NHL Draft getting underway on Friday evening in Las Vegas.
After winning the draft lottery last month, the San Jose Sharks kicked off the festivities by selecting Boston University star Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 pick. The Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild after trading veteran players like Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl over the past year.
Celebrini was the youngest player in college hockey this past season at just 17 years old. That didn’t seem to play too much of a factor as Celebrini became the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in Division I. The talented center racked up 64 points (32 goals & 32 assists) in 38 games during his freshman season at Boston University.
In fact, he was the only player to tally 30+ goals and 30+ assists in Division I. His 1.7 goals-per-game were the second-most in Division I behind Boston College standout and future Sharks teammate Will Smith
The Blackhawks are also right back near the top of the draft as they hold the No. 2 pick. Rounding out the top five is Anaheim at No. 3, Columbus at No. 4 and Montreal at No. 5.
Celebrini will certainly be the most polarizing player when the 2024 NHL Draft class is mentioned. However, there’s plenty of other talented prospects that will likely hear their names called early on, including Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levsunov, Russian defenseman Anton Silayev, WHL center Cayden Lindstrom and Russian winger Ivan Demidov.
CBS Sports will have you covered with all of the action from Las Vegas throughout the night.
How to watch the 2024 NHL Draft
- Date: Friday, June 28 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Sphere — Las Vegas
- TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
