The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft isn't in the NHL video game, so what overall does he think he should be?
The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft isn't in the NHL video game, so what overall does he think he should be?
The projected first overall pick, and future San Jose Shark, Macklin Celebrini was in Buffalo this past week for the NHL Draft Combine, along with 99 other top prospects for the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft.
The combine is an opportunity for players to take part in interviews with NHL teams, compete in physical fitness tests, and then meet with members of the media for questions.
Celebrini didn’t stand out in the fitness tests, but neither did last year’s first-overall pick, Connor Bedard. It’s not the end-all be-all if a player has an average-to-poor combine result, but players who do stand out show off their athleticism to all the NHL scouts and GMs in attendance.
Once he completed the fitness obstacle course, Celebrini made his way up to speak with the media, where he started with a laugh saying how he was really hoping to get to the six feet measurement, but measured in just a quarter inch short.
Since EA Sports doesn’t have the rights to include players who play in the NCAA, he isn’t in NHL 24 as a roster player, but does have a created player for Team Canada under the World Junior Championship game mode. He’s listed as a 78 overall playmaker with medium elite potential.
We had the opportunity to ask Celebrini what overall he would give himself in the game, to which he replied, “Probably a 75, or a 74? I don’t even know, is that too high or too low?”
He wasn’t giving himself enough credit for how talented of a player he is. A 75 or 74-rated player is a top-line AHL player in the video game. Celebrini right now could play in the NHL.
We created Macklin Celebrini and gave our impression of what he should accurately look like when NHL 25 rolls around.
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81 overall is what we settled on. We gave him high elite potential and marked him as a sniper player type. We also gave him four x-factors with Wheels being his zone ability, since he is an explosive puck carrier through the neutral zone and has a skating style similar to Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
The superstar abilities we gave him were Elite Edges, because he’s not just an explosive skater but explosive off his edges and out of turns, Make It Snappy, because he’s got a quick snap shot, and One Tee, because he possesses an accurate and powerful one-timer from the right-side faceoff circle on the powerplay.
Were we too high or too low on Celebrini? Let us know on The Hockey News Gaming Site Forum, which you can join here.