The NHL offseason is now in full swing with the 2024 NHL Draft taking place 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 altogether. His 1.7 goals-per-game were the second-most in Division I behind Boston College standout and future Sharks teammate Will Smith
Following Celebrini going to the Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov with the No. 2 pick. Levshunov tallied 35 points (nine goals and 26 assists) in 38 games for the Spartans this past season. Levshunov had the second-most points-per-game (0.94) among NCAA defensemen, which is more than the likes of Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy, and Noah Hanifin in their draft year.
In what could be described as the first surprise of the draft, Oshawa (OHL) winger Beckett Sennecke was taken by the Anaheim Ducks. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who reportedly turned down multiple trade offers for the No. 4 selection, selected Medicine Hat (WHL) forward Cayden Lindstrom with the pick. The Montreal Canadiens rounded out the top five by nabbing SKA St. Petersburg Jr. winger Ivan Demidov at No. 5.
With their first selection in franchise history, the Utah Hockey Club took Kelowna (WHL) center Tij Iginla, who is the son of Calgary Flames legend Jarome Iginla. The Ottawa Senators elected to address their blue line with Calgary (WHL) defenseman Carter Yakemchuk. Spokane (WHL) center Berkly Catton, who tallied 116 points last season, went to the Seattle Kraken with the eighth overall pick. To wrap up the top 10 of the first round, the Calgary Flames took Saginaw (OHL) defenseman Zayne Parekh with the No. 9 pick, while the New Jersey Devils grabbed KHL defenseman Anton Silayev at No. 10.
Round 1
1. San Jose Sharks -- Macklin Celebrini (C, Boston University, NCAA)
2. Chicago Blackhawks -- Artyom Levshunov (D, Michigan State, NCAA)
3. Anaheim Ducks -- Beckett Sennecke (RW, Oshawa, OHL)
4. Columbus Blue Jackets -- Cayden Lindstrom (C, Medicine Hat, WHL)
5. Montreal Canadiens -- Ivan Demidov (RW, SKA St. Petersburg Jr., MHL)
6. Utah Hockey Club -- Tij Iginla (C, Kelowna, WHL)
7. Ottawa Senators -- Carter Yakemchuk (D, Calgary, WHL)
8. Seattle Kraken -- Berkly Catton (C, Spokane, WHL)
9. Calgary Flames -- Zayne Parekh (D, Saginaw, OHL)
10. New Jersey Devils -- Anton Silayev (D, Nizhny Novgorod, KHL)
11. San Jose Sharks -- Sam Dickinson (D, London, OHL)
12. Minnesota Wild -- Zeev Buium (D, Denver, NCAA)
13. Philadelphia Flyers -- Jett Luchanko (C, Guelph, OHL)
14. Buffalo Sabres -- Konsta Helenius (C, Jukurit, Finland)
15. Detroit Red Wings -- Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (RW, Mora, Sweden)
16. St. Louis Blues -- Adam Jiricek (D, Plzen, Czech Republic)
17. Washington Capitals -- Terik Parascak (RW, Prince George, WHL)
18. Chicago Blackhawks -- Sacha Boisvert (C, Muskegeon, USHL)
19. Vegas Golden Knights -- Trevor Connelly (LW, Tri-City, USHL)
20. New York Islanders -- Cole Eiserman (LW, USA U-18, USHL)
21. Montreal Canadiens -- Michael Hage (C, Chicago, USHL)
22. Nashville Predators -- Yegor Surin (C, Yaroslavl Jr., Russia)
23. Anaheim Ducks -- Stian Solberg (D, Valerenga, Norway)
24. Utah Hockey Club -- Cole Beaudoin (C, Barrie, OHL)
25. Boston Bruins -- Dean Letourneau (C, St. Andrew College, Canada)
26. Los Angeles Kings -- Liam Greentree (RW, Windsor, OHL)
27. Chicago Blackhawks -- Marek Vanacker (LW, Brantford, OHL)
28. Calgary Flames -- Matvei Gridin (RW, Muskegon, USHL)
29. Dallas Stars -- Emil Hemming (RW, TPS, SM-liiga)
30. New York Rangers -- EJ Emery (D, USA U-18, USHL)
31. Toronto Maple Leafs -- Ben Danford (D, Oshawa, OHL)
32. Edmonton Oilers -- Sam O'Reilly (RW, London, OHL)
