2024 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Top prospects Macklin Celebrini, Cole Eiserman are unstoppable

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
2024 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Top prospects Macklin Celebrini, Cole Eiserman are unstoppable
Credit: Rich Gagnon/BU Athletics

The best of the best are certainly showing why they’re at the top.

Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman were tabbed as the top two players for the 2024 NHL Draft a couple years ago, and nothing has really changed. Ivan Demidov got people talking during the summer, but with an injury keeping him out of action for the next few months, the spotlight has returned to the United States once again.

Celebrini kicked off his NCAA season in style earlier this month, putting up a handful of points over his first two showings. Eiserman, meanwhile, has been lighting up goalies for a month now, and there’s no chance he’s going to start slowing down any time soon.

It’s so rare that we get two good friends battling it out to go first overall. But it’s better that they’re both thriving, even with a difference in game action so far.

Celebrini and Eiserman are the talk of the town, but they’re not the only prospects making noise early in the season (players with rankings beside them are on Daily Faceoff’s most recent draft rankings):

NCAA

– Clearly, Macklin Celebrini’s (No. 1) shoulder injury last spring isn’t causing him any issues. The Boston University freshman scored in his college debut versus Bentley University before scoring twice against the University of New Hampshire on Friday. While he’s still getting up to speed against older competition, Celebrini’s high-end skill is fully evident in the way he shoots, sets his teammates up and attacks the play. Celebrini is first in team scoring early on, with his older brother, Vancouver Canucks prospect Aiden Celebrini, tying Lane Hutson, Tom Willander and Jeremy Wilmer for second with two points each.

USHL

– Cole Eiserman (No. 2) has been the most dominant offensive force this year, starting the season with a whopping 13 goals and 18 points in just eight games. He started things off hot with five points in two games at the USHL Fall Classic, including a hat-trick against Omaha. But then he upped the ante with four goals against Green Bay to close out the month and five points against Boston University this past Saturday. It feels like a given that Eiserman will break Cole Caufield’s record of 72 goals in a season, especially after getting 69 a year ago. It seems like goaltenders across the USHL and NCAA are doing whatever it takes to help make that possible, too.

US-Prep

– Prep school stars don’t get much attention, but Shattuck St. Mary’s William Zellers is looking to change that. After a solid 49-point effort in his first year with the U-18 team last year, Zellers is already up to 13 goals and 19 points after just 10 games. Add in a five-goal, seven-point run with USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and it’s clear more eyes need to be on the 17-year-old forward. A University of North Dakota commit, Zellers is an energetic forward with a great shot, and he can shoot from just about anywhere with a wide variety of options.

WHL

– If you follow the WHL, escaping the hype surrounding Kelowna Rockets star Tij Iginla has been difficult. The younger brother of Brown University forward Jade Iginla – and son of Jarome, of course – Tij has eight points in his past four games, playing some of the best hockey of his junior career. Of his 11 points this year, eight are goals – already putting him above the six goals he scored with Seattle last year. Iginla has soft hands, a quick release and puts the pressure on defenders to make quick decisions with the puck.

– Terik Parascak wasn’t high on any draft boards heading into the season, given he was playing U-18 prep hockey when other kids his age were playing major junior. But with 12 goals and 19 points in just 12 games for Prince George, it’s hard not to noice. Parascak had 11 points in his first three games, including a six-point effort on Sept. 29. He has slowed down a little bit with just two points over his past three games, but Parascak is a high-volume shooter who has proven he can dominate every level.

OHL

– I’ll admit, I wasn’t too high on Ryerson Leenders as a rookie with the Steelheads last year. And maybe I was a bit harsh on a 16-year-old challenging for the No. 1 spot. But my oh my, has he been an absolute stud this year. Leenders has been one of the best OHL goaltenders with a 6-0-0 record, two shutouts and a .952 save percentage. He’s playing with an incredible amount of confidence, controlling the crease much better than I remember from last year. He’s not a big goalie at 6-foot-1, but his athleticism is apparent. Even with a few big wins, Leenders has faced 34 or more shots in four games, including a pair of 40-plus-shot contests over the weekend.

– Sticking in Mississauga, how about Luke Misa? After a 43-point sophomore campaign last year, it was easy to write off the brother of top 2025 prospect Michael Misa. But Luke has six goals and 14 points in 2023-24, showing a more nuanced offensive game than what we grew to see in his first two major junior seasons. It was clear early on that the lost 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 hurt Misa’s development, as many saw him as one of the top prospects for the 2021 OHL Draft. He ended up going ninth, but he didn’t show enough early in his career to cement himself as a name to watch for the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s one of the older prospects due to being a late-2005-born center, but he’s a big reason why the Steelheads have been one of the better teams in the OHL early on.

– The early reviews for Zayne Parekh (No. 17) have been positive. He’s tied for the scoring lead on Saginaw with 10 points in six games, leading all draft-eligible defenders out of the CHL. He’s a power-play stalwart, but Parekh’s ability to control the pace of play from the blueline is what really helps him stand out in a stacked defensive draft class. His four-point game against Kitchener on Oct. 7 was one of the best single-game efforts so far this year, and he had a season-high nine shots against the Steelheads this past Saturday.

Liiga

– Is Emil Hemming (No. 29) the real deal? The 6-foot-2 winger got off to a dominant start with nine points in five Hlinka Gretzky Cup games with Finland, making him the team’s best scorer. Then, against U-20 competition, Hemming scored eight goals and 13 points before earning his first call-up to TPS’ Liiga lineup. He scored a goal in each of his first two games before seeing his time fall, scoring just once in the month of October. Still, we’re seeing a player who can handle the pace of play against older competition and should push himself into the top 15 conversation before too long.

KHL

Don’t look now, but Nikita Artamonov is making some noise with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL. While Anton Silyaev has been the one people have been talking about out of the organization this year, Artamonov was named KHL rookie of the week for the first week of October after seeing some first-line action. The 17-year-old right winger has nine points through 18 games, the most of any draft eligible KHLer this year. He’s not afraid to play with a bit of an edge, either.

Betano

Discover Betano.ca – a premium Sports Betting and Online Casino experience. Offering numerous unique and dynamic betting options along with diverse digital and live casino games, Betano is where The Game Starts Now. 19+. Please play responsibly.

Recently by Steven Ellis

Keep scrolling for more content!