Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — It’s been a long five years for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

The team has not made the playoffs since losing to the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Finals in 2019. The franchise’s recent nadir occurred this past season when the Sharks finished dead last in the league with 19 wins and 47 points.

Nobody ever wants to hit rock bottom, but San Jose’s timing could not have been any better. The Sharks won the NHL Draft lottery earlier this week and will select first overall for the first time in franchise history. The 2024 NHL Draft takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29.

There should be no speculation between now and then on who the Sharks will take with the first pick. Boston University center Macklin Celebrini is a unanimous choice among pundits to be selected by San Jose.

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier all but confirmed that when talking to reporters after the draft lottery announcement.

“I think so, yeah,” Grier said when asked if he anticipates selecting Celebrini with the first overall pick next month. “It’s a big moment for the organization and the fans here to have the opportunity to draft someone like Macklin.”

The selection of Celebrini makes sense for a multitude of reasons.

The 17-year-old Vancouver native excelled as a freshman for Boston University, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Hobey Baker Memorial award, given annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Celebrini was second in the NCAA with 32 goals and 64 points while guiding the Terriers to the Frozen Four. After leading the country with 1.69 points per game during the regular season, Celebrini had one goal and four assists in Boston University’s three NCAA playoff games.

He followed that impressive collegiate debut with a strong showing for Canada at the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Celebrini recorded eight points in five games for the Canadians.

Massive expectations followed Celebrini as soon as he set foot on BU’s campus. He set the United States Hockey League (USHL) ablaze during the 2022-23 season, breaking the record for most points by a U17 player in league history with 86 in his one season with the Chicago Steel. That performance earned him USHL Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year.

Points, work ethic and a great hockey name aside, Celebrini is the perfect pick for the Sharks for another reason: he has played there already.

You see, Celebrini’s father, Rick, has been the director of sports medicine and performance for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors since 2018. The younger Celebrini played for the San Jose Junior Sharks’ 14U team and has strong ties to the Bay Area.

The local connection is huge for a team in the process of a major rebuild. San Jose has experienced some success in its 33-year franchise history, reaching the postseason 21 times and making a Stanley Cup Final and multiple Western Conference Finals appearances. Centers Patrick Marleau (1,111) and Joe Thornton (1,055) top the club’s all-time points leaderboard.

But the past five years have seen the Sharks in NHL no-man’s land: not good enough to make the playoffs and not bad enough to get a potential generational player in the draft.

That should change in several weeks when Celebrini’s name is called.

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