The 2024 NHL Draft is upon us. Dreams are going to come true for many young men who have dedicated their lives to hockey. Teams around the league are also taking big steps toward their goals as well.
Earlier in the year, the San Jose Sharks won the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery so they will make the first overall pick. The Chicago Blackhawks won the next lottery so they will have that second overall pick.
This draft is not as deep as it was in 2023 but there are some great players at the top. Beyond that, teams need to find a gem and develop them well. Over the years, we’ll find who made the right decisions at this particular event.
There are a lot of ways that this can end up. This is a mock draft of how the first round may go in the 2024 NHL Draft:
The San Jose Sharks will select Macklin Celebrini with the 1st overall pick
1. SJS - Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University
Macklin Celebrini was incredible for the Chicago Steel and Boston University over the last two years. He quickly established himself as the number one guy for 2024 and that hasn’t changed.
The Sharks will certainly select Celebrini and begin building around him. They already have other good young players in the organization but they have a long way to go before they are a winning team.
Pairing Celebrini with a guy like Will Smith (4th overall in 2023) should be great for San Jose. It is fun to think about how he will fit in that organization that is starving for some star power after many years of being great before this current rebuild.
This will be the first time that the San Jose Sharks franchise will make the first overall pick in the NHL Draft. It’s an exciting time for sure and they’re getting a great player in Celebrini.