LAS VEGAS — Even if everyone in the room knows who the No. 1 overall pick is, there’s at least a pseudo-tension when Gary Bettman first steps up to the microphone to announce the top pick.
But even that possibility was ruled out more than six weeks ago when Sharks general manager Mike Grier was asked if he would select Boston College’s Macklin Celebrini after his lottery win in early May.
“I think so,” Greer said. “That’s right.”
And there wasn’t even the slightest hint of nervousness on Friday when franchise great Joe Thornton announced that the Sharks would, in fact, draft Celebrini, who won the Hobey Baker Award last year as college hockey’s top player.
Celebrini will join the franchise where he played for the junior team in 2018 when his father, Rick, joined the Golden State Warriors as director of sports medicine and performance.
“It’s unbelievable,” Celebrini told Sportsnet. “Honestly, it doesn’t seem real that life has come full circle and is back to normal.”
After Celebrini went first, Chicago took Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov with the second overall pick and Anaheim took OHL forward Beckett Senneke with the third pick.
The Blue Jackets then selected WHL centre Kayden Lindstrom with the fourth pick, followed by Celine Dion announcing that Montreal would select Russian defenceman Ivan Demidov with the fifth pick.
It’s not yet clear whether Celebrini, who played as a college freshman at age 17 before turning adult just two weeks ago, will sign with the Sharks or return to BU for another season.
Celebrini led the Terriers to the Frozen Four with 32 goals and 32 assists in just 38 games, but some could argue he was out of college hockey before most kids were even old enough to step foot on campus.
But the Sharks, in the midst of a painful rebuild, will be mindful to not put Celebrini at risk if he does start the season in the NHL.
At this early stage of the offseason, San Jose has just nine forwards under contract, per Cap Friendly, and about $30.4 million in salary cap room, so it’s unclear who would play alongside the left-handed center if he were to move.
He was selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks
The first round of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28 at the Sphere.
Las Vegas, Nevada, 2024. NHLI via Getty Images
If that happens, the Sharks will need to add even more talent than they did last season to help the rookie grow and get used to playing against adults.
Whether or not Celebrini makes it into the league right away, his arrival would be a much-needed blessing for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019.
Celebrini isn’t considered a generational prospect like Connor Bedard was a year ago, but he has garnered praise for his versatility and two-way play and is the arguable No. 1 pick in this draft.
The Vancouver native is already familiar with the Bay Area and counts the likes of Steve Nash and Ryan Kessler (Rick Celebrini also worked for the Canucks) as colleagues through his father’s work.
Now he will begin to build his own legacy on the southern end of the Gulf Coast.
