Meet Macklin Celebrini, the top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Macklin Celebrini (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

Something must have been in the water in the Vancouver area nearly two decades ago.

Born in 2005, West Vancouver’s Connor Bedard appeared on the scene around six years ago and never looked back as the best prospect in the game. Now, he’s ready to get started with the Chicago Blackhawks as the NHL’s next phenom.

And just 331 days later, about a 15-minute drive or so south, Macklin Celebrini was born. Now, Celebrini is looking to keep the British Columbia hype train going by becoming the first player taken in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Celebrini didn’t grow up playing in the B.C. area. Instead, he moved to California, where the NBA’s Golden State Warriors hired his dad, Rick, as their director of sports medicine and performance. Celebrini grew up playing minor hockey in the San Jose area before moving to the prestigious prep program at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota.

Celebrini remains a Canucks fan to this day. It didn’t hurt that the team selected his older brother, Aiden, at the 2023 NHL Draft, too. The younger brother told reporters at the U-18s that he thinks the Canucks should start a full-on rebuild. Whether the Canucks agree or not is one thing, but you could imagine the hype if Celebrini went back home.

Daily Faceoff’s preliminary rankings have Celebrini as the No. 1 prospect for the next selection process. It’s easy to see why: he led the USHL with 86 points with the Chicago Steel, surpassing the draft minus-1 record set by Adam Fantilli (also with the Steel) a year ago at 74. It was a remarkable rookie campaign for a player that elected to go the college route, depriving fans and scouts of the opportunity to watch him play against Bedard and Co. every night.

But it was the right call for Celebrini, who is set to go to Boston University for 2023-24. He cleared the early admission requirements like Matt Wood – another West Van product – did to join Connecticut this past year. Celebrini had nothing to gain from another year in the USHL where he clearly was a step ahead of the rest all year long. And it was to be expected after crushing the United States high school prep scene in 2021-22, leading all U-18 players with 117 points in 52 games with Shattuck’s.

All this kid does is score.

That was on full display at the IIHF men’s U-18 World Hockey Championship in April. Celebrini led Canada with six goals and 15 points, good for first among draft-1 prospects and fifth overall. The tournament was full of highlight moments for the Canadian forward, but his overtime goal was easily one of the best. Wood found him in close, with Celebrini snagging the puck near the hashmarks before beating Slovakian goaltender Samuel Urban with a beautiful deke, giving Canada the bronze.

He scored that goal with an injured shoulder, by the way.

“He’s an exceptional player and a great kid,” Wood said. “He’s going to be really special for a long time.”

Celebrini’s ability to lull defensemen into a false sense of security on a rush is one of the aspects that makes him so effective. He’s difficult to get a good read on both with and without the puck. He knows when to conserve his energy for quick speed bursts around defensemen, and it’s why he’s so dangerous in close. His linemates in Chicago knew to be patient because Celebrini would cement himself exactly where he needed to be.

With the puck, that’s when things get a little ridiculous. His hands are as quick as they come, allowing him to make speedy moves with the disk in tight around defenders’ ankles, putting his opponents in a difficult position. He doesn’t typically lose 1-on-1 battles with goaltenders, scoring nearly equally between the forehand and backhand.

“He’s very special, he’s an elite young man,” said Canadian U-18 national team coach Jeff Truitt. “To come (to the U-18s) at 16 years of age and dominate the way that he did and control plays and score the way that he does with his skill. It’s absolutely outstanding. You don’t see too many of these 16-year-olds that can dominate like he can.”

Macklin Celebrini goal map, 2022-23 (Sportcontract)
Macklin Celebrini goal map, 2022-23 (Sportcontract)

It’s hard to compare Celebrini to any player in particular. He’s not in the same stratosphere as Bedard – nobody really is. But some scouts consider him among the most talented No. 1 prospects we’ve seen in recent years. Like Bedard’s, Celebrini’s release is so dangerous from just about anywhere. He’s had quite a bit of success in the hashmarks, and, most notably, just to the right of them. Give him some space to unleash his release and you’re screwed. Most of his damage is done in close, high-danger areas, and few come close to matching it in this age group.

“I just try to be my own player, but I take things from those guys that I watch every day and look up to,” Celebrini said, adding that he watches ‘all the biggest stars.’ “I just try to take little things and all pieces from the best and implement them in my own game.”

His teammates notice.

“How hard he works, and his physical maturity at his young age, it’s pretty incredible the things he can already do,” said Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow about his U-18 national team teammate. “The confidence the kid has, it’s fun to watch.”

His most formidable competition for the 2024 draft is USNTDP star Cole Eiserman, who played and lived with Celebrini at Shattuck’s. They’re good friends to this day, and both cheer each other on when they’re not playing against each other. For what it’s worth, they both had 14 points in head-to-head USHL play this year, with Celebrini’s five-goal game on Feb. 18 being the best individual showing. Eiserman is viewed as the more lethal goal-scorer, with his 69-goal campaign being one of the best in USNTDP history. Celebrini is the more well-rounded player at this point.

“He’s one of my best buddies, I cheer for him all the time,” Celebrini said. “It’s going to be awesome getting drafted together.”

Off the ice, it’s the usual for Celebrini. He likes golfing, hanging out with friends and playing hockey whenever possible. He lives and breathes the game, and you have to if you’re going to reach the level he has.

A player’s draft year can drag on dramatically, especially for someone as skilled as Celebrini. Celebrini played the season with a shoulder injury, but reaggravated it on a faceoff to close out the USHL season. He required surgery that could take him out of the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the start of the BU season. Celebrini is a prime candidate to compete for Canada’s world junior team as the team chases its third straight gold.

Adjusting to college will be one of the biggest difficulties for Celebrini. The USHL is one thing, but the NCAA is a whole other animal playing against full-grown men. Assuming everything goes to plan, Celebrini could be the first NCAA player to be drafted first overall since Owen Power in 2021. If anyone can handle the pressure of going to college while juggling high expectations awarded to top prospects, it’s Celebrini.

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