BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's not uncommon for there to be a debate about who the No. 1 pick will be leading up to the NHL draft.
This is not one of those years, though.
Macklin Celebrini, a center out of Boston University who turns 18 years old next week, is the consensus No. 1 pick. With the Sharks winning the draft lottery and the right to pick first overall on June 28 in Las Vegas, that means that Celebrini will be taking his talents to San Jose.
The EliteProspects draft guide calls Celebrini "special – there’s no other way to put it. An overwhelmingly skilled and dynamic two-way centre with franchise player potential. The best draft-year college prospect we’ve ever scouted."
It seems like the only person in the hockey world not willing to call Celebrini the top pick out of this draft is Celebrini himself.
"I mean, there's been a lot of talk around that subject and that possibility, for sure," Celebrini said at the NHL combine in Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday. "But I mean, at the end of the day, you never know what's going to happen. I don't think I'm getting too ahead of myself, I don't think anyone else is going to get too ahead of themselves too. For right now, I'm just going to enjoy the last couple of days in the combine and enjoy this experience, because I've really, really, really enjoyed my time here."
Celebrini, as a 17-year-old freshman listed at 6 foot and 190 pounds, finished No. 3 in scoring in all of college hockey this year with 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games for Boston University. The only players he trailed were a pair of Boston College forwards -- Ducks prospect Cuttier Gauthier, a sophomore who was originally a 2022 fifth overall pick from the Flyers, who scored 38 goals and 27 assists in 41 games, and leading scorer Will Smith, who scored 25 goals and 46 assists in 41 games. Smith was the Sharks' fourth overall pick in last summer's draft. With Celebrini likely getting drafted by San Jose too, the Sharks have a dangerous pair of young forwards on the way. Celebrini would welcome being on the same side as Smith, after their battles against each other in college.
"It wasn't very fun," Celebrini said with a smile of playing against Smith. "Playing against him, he's a special player. I played against them for the last three or four years, so I've seen a lot of him. He's a great player, super shifty, super smooth. So every time we went up against him, he lit us up."
Smith has already signed his entry-level deal and will be turning pro next season with the Sharks. Celebrini has said on a number of occasions that he hasn't yet come to a decision on his plans for next season, whether he'll go pro to or go back to school for a sophomore season. If he does go back to school, he still feels like he has room to grow at the college level despite such a strong freshman year.
"I feel like it will just give me a little more time to develop," Celebrini said when asked what he would hypothetically gain from another year in college. "There's never really shame or nothing wrong with just taking your time and improving a little bit more, getting stronger, getting bigger, getting faster. So I feel like in those ways, another year would benefit me just to get more physically ready and just make sure I'm very strong when I try to make that jump."
Regardless of when Celebrini goes pro, the future looks bright in San Jose.
MORE ON THE DRAFT
• The top 25 finishers in each category for the fitness testing can be found here.
• The Penguins have six picks in the draft: Two in the second round (44th, 46th overall), one in the fourth round (111th overall), one in the sixth round (175th overall) and two in the seventh round (207th and 223rd overall). The higher of the second-round picks was the pick received in the Jake Guentzel trade and the lower of the two second-round picks was part of a package the Penguins got last draft when the Rangers traded up within the third round.
• The missing first-round pick went to the Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade. The missing third-round pick went to the Ducks two seasons ago to entice the Ducks to take on Brock McGinn's contract. The missing fifth-round pick went to the Sharks in the trade to acquire Nick Bonino two seasons ago.
• The first round of the draft will take place Friday, June 28 at 7 p.m. Eastern in Las Vegas at the Sphere. Rounds 2-7 will take place Saturday, June 29 at 11:30 a.m.
• This will be the last in-person NHL draft, where all teams' personnel are in the same place along with the prospects. After this year the draft will move to a format similar to the NFL draft, where the prospects still gather in one place but teams stay home and make their picks from afar.
• I'll have a daily series on potential picks for the Penguins at 44th and 46th overall based off conversations from here at the combine. The first of those will run Monday.
