The ping pong balls fell for the Sharks in the 2024 NHL Draft lottery on Tuesday night, giving San Jose the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history.
The Sharks, who have another first-round pick at No. 14 from the Erik Karlsson trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins, are expected to draft Macklin Celebrini, the highest-rated prospect in the draft. The 17-year-old center is a special talent, having scored 32 goals and 32 assists in just 37 games with Boston University this season.
Even better for San Jose: Celebrini has local ties, having played for the Junior Sharks during the 2019-20 season, where he scored 49 goals and provided 45 assists in just 54 games for the 14-and-under team. His father, Rick, is also the director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors, and the Celebrini family is based in Livermore, just 34 miles north of the Sharks’ SAP Center home.
After the Sharks won the lottery, Celebrini shared his thoughts on the organization with ESPN’s John Buccigross
“I lived there for a while, obviously with my dad with the Warriors,” Celebrini told Puccigross. “…If I’m lucky to get drafted there, I’ll be very lucky.”
The Sharks, who are in last place in the 2023-24 NHL standings (19-54-9), had an 18.5 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick.
The Chicago Blackhawks have the second overall pick, with the Anaheim Ducks third and the Columbus Blue Jackets fourth.
Heading into the lottery, the Blackhawks trail the Sharks with the second-best odds at 13.5 percent after finishing 31st overall in the NHL standings (23-53-6) last season. The Ducks, who are 30th in the standings, had the third-best odds at 11.5 percent.
The 2024 NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. San Jose is currently scheduled to have nine picks: two in the first round and two in the second round, then one in the third round, one in the fourth, two in the fifth round and one in the seventh round.
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