NHL Draft 2024 picks, results: Sharks select Boston University star Macklin Celebrini with No. 1 overall pick

The NHL offseason is now in full swing, with the 2024 NHL Draft taking place 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 going through a rebuild after trading away veteran players like Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl last year.

Celebrini was the youngest player in college hockey this past season, at just 17 years old. It seems that didn’t matter too much as Celebrini became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in Division I. The talented center scored 64 points (32 goals and 32 assists) in 38 games during his freshman season at Boston University.

In fact, he was the only player to have 30+ goals and 30+ assists in Division I. His 1.7 goals per game were the second-most in Division I behind Boston College star and future Sharks teammate Will Smith.

After Celebrini went to the Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Michigan State defenseman Artem Levshunov with the No. 2 pick. Levshunov scored 35 points (nine goals and 26 assists) in 38 games for the Spartans last season. Levshunov had the second-most points-per-game (0.94) among NCAA defensemen, higher than draft-year players like Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy and Noah Hanifin.

In what could be described as the first surprise of the draft, Oshawa (OHL) winger Beckett Seneke 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 Kaiden Lindstrom with the pick. The Montreal Canadiens rounded out the top five by grabbing SKA St. Petersburg junior winger Ivan Demidov at No. 5.

With their first selection in franchise history, the Utah Hockey Club took Kelowna (WHL) centre Tige Iginla, the son of Calgary Flames legend Jarome Iginla. The Ottawa Senators elected to address their blue line with Calgary (WHL) defenceman Carter Yakemchuk. Spokane (WHL) centre Burkley Caton, who scored 116 points last season, went to the Seattle Kraken with the eighth overall pick. To round out the top 10 of the first round, the Calgary Flames took Saginaw (OHL) defenceman Zayne Parekh with the No. 9 pick, while the New Jersey Devils took KHL defenceman 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 Seneke (RW, Oshawa, OHL)
4. Columbus Blue Jackets – Kaiden Lindstrom (C, Medicine Hat, WHL)
5. Montreal Canadiens – Ivan Demidov (RW, SKA St. Petersburg Jr., MHL)
6. Utah Hockey Club – Taj Iginla (C, Kelowna, WHL)
7. Ottawa Senators – Carter Yakemchuk (D, Calgary, WHL)
8. Seattle Kraken – Berkley Kitten (C, Spokane, WHL)
9. Calgary Flames – Zane 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 Buem (D, Denver, NCAA)
13. Philadelphia Flyers – Jett Luchanko (C, Guelph, OHL)
14. Buffalo Sabres – Konsta Helenius (C, Jukurit, Finland)
15. Detroit Red Wings – Michael Brandseg-Nygard (RW, Mora, Sweden)
16. St. Louis Blues – Adam Jirisek (D, Plzen, Czech Republic)
17. Washington Capitals – Terek Parsak (RW, Prince George, WHL)
18. Chicago Blackhawks – Sacha Boisvert (C, Muskegon, 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 Hayes (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’s College, Canada)
26. Los Angeles Kings – Liam Greentree (RW, Windsor, OHL)
27. Chicago Blackhawks – Marek Wanker (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)