San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini is currently one point behind Montreal rookie Lane Hutson as the highest-scoring first-year NHLer this season. And in this cover story from THN's 2024 Draft Preview edition, editor-in-chief Ryan Kennedy penned a major feature on Celebrini's development into an elite prospect:

By Ryan Kennedy

Rarely has the sporting world been understated when it comes to The Next Big Thing, but that very well may have been the case with Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini.

The top prospect for the upcoming 2024 NHL draft just happens to have come along one season after Connor Bedard-mania, and because 2023’s No. 1 pick was so special, the Chicago Blackhawks rookie continued to dominate prospect conversations even after he began his NHL journey.

So, let’s right that wrong and give Celebrini his due props. “I think there’s a Bedard hangover, because this guy is incredible,” said one scout. “The hockey sense, the skill, the puck protection and second effort. What I hear about his work habits. He’s outperforming guys in college already. For me, he’s a clear-cut, no-one’s-even-close-to-challenging-him No. 1.”

And if you need some empirical evidence, Celebrini finished his freshman season in college hockey by winning the Hobey Baker Award as the best men’s player in the nation. The most stunning part? He was still 17 when he received the honor, making him the youngest player ever to clinch the Hobey. “It’s a surreal feeling,” said Celebrini that night. “Getting such a prestigious award means a lot, and it’s just a whirlwind right now.”

The Hobey was the culmination of an incredible season for Celebrini, who tallied 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games for the Terriers while helping them to the Frozen Four semifinal. The fact he was even in university at 17 is pretty stunning, but talk to those who know him best and you’ll realize this kid is driven in a way that only the best are.

Celebrini was born and raised in Vancouver, the second of Rick and Robyn Celebrini’s four children. Older brother Aiden is a Vancouver Canucks draft pick and his teammate at BU, while younger brother R.J. is already turning heads in the hockey world at 12. Sister Charlie is a youth tennis star. Macklin showed his intensity early in the household.

“He was very high-energy,” Robyn said. “Very kinesthetic. He had a lot of energy and, honestly, as long as you channeled it in a positive way, he was great. He locked onto hockey and soccer right away, and when he latches onto something, he is so laser-focused, and he has that drive.”

When Celebrini was four, that drive first became apparent in a game where he lost the puck in front of the opposing net. The opposing player was already at the blueline when Celebrini took chase, eventually diving on his belly to swipe the puck away at the last second. By six, he was directing traffic on faceoffs.

Since Aiden is only 19 months older, Macklin always had someone to compete with, and the family basement featured a little synthetic ice rink where the two would play together for hours, scrapping as siblings often do.

“He was a handful at times because he was so intense and had so much energy,” Rick said. “Sometimes, he would get in trouble because of that. So, it’s interesting to see how he matured because he channeled that into sport. That’s where it manifests itself. He has a discipline, and he’s actually far more relaxed and chill now. He almost doesn’t seem like the same person off the ice, but on the ice, he’s still that same kid who won’t give an inch and competes his butt off.”

At this point, it’s probably important to note that Rick knows a thing or two about elite athletes: he’s the director of sports medicine and performance for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. That led to the family moving to Northern California when Macklin was 13, where he suited up for the San Jose Jr. Sharks. But the local competition just wasn’t enough for the young phenom, so he and Aiden decamped to Shattuck-St. Mary’s, the famous Minnesota prep school. By the time he was 15, Macklin was on the school’s U-18 team, leading the squad in scoring with 117 points in 52 games.

After that, he signed a tender agreement with the USHL’s Chicago Steel, which meant that Chicago would surrender its first-round pick in that year’s draft in exchange for the guarantee that Celebrini would play in at least 55 percent of the team’s games. Celebrini immediately led the USHL in scoring, becoming just the third skater to win rookie of the year and player of the year in the same season.

While he could have returned to Chicago this year, Celebrini wanted to push himself. He wanted to go straight to Boston University. “He sets these goals, and he’s so determined to succeed in those goals,” Rick said. “He set that as a goal, and we said, ‘OK, we’ll see how you’re doing in Chicago by Christmas,’ and he was having success there. So, we said, ‘Keep going with the accelerated schooling.’ He did Grades 11 and 12 last year, finishing Grade 12 in June or July. He worked really hard in school so he could reach his hockey goals. He was really determined to play his draft year in college. And that was his version of ‘exceptional status.’ That would have been his goal if he had gone the major-junior route, so this was his way of challenging himself and setting a pretty lofty goal.”

Had Celebrini opted for major junior, he would’ve played for WHL Seattle, as the Thunderbirds had his draft rights. And while the Celebrinis were impressed with the Seattle organization, the NCAA became the mission. “For the past couple of years, I’ve been thinking more and more about college hockey,” Celebrini said. “And, obviously, I went to Chicago and felt like college hockey was the right path for me, just playing against older, more mature, stronger players. I felt like it would help me best just to develop. And, obviously, we have a great coaching staff here that made it a very easy decision to come here.”

It is still beguiling, however, that Celebrini was able to step into the NCAA at 17 and become the best performer in a pool of talent that includes players who are as much as seven years older. Heck, even just being a college student on the other side of the continent away from your parents at 17 is impressive, though having fellow freshman Aiden certainly helped. “It was really cool,” Macklin said. “Being able to experience that every day with my brother and my whole team is something I’ll never forget.”

And the team won’t ever forget Celebrini, either – even if he made a daunting first impression on the ice. “The first day of training camp for us, he pissed a lot of guys off,” said BU coach Jay Pandolfo, the two-time Stanley Cup champion with New Jersey.

“But it was because of how competitive he is. He doesn’t give anyone an inch, and he’s like that every day. And for a 17-year-old to push a group of older players like that, it’s pretty impressive and says a lot about him and about his character and about how much he cares. And it’s been great to have him around. He’s a great teammate. He’s coachable. He wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed. He wants to learn. And he’s going to be a tremendous player for a long time.”

Clearly, the other Terriers warmed up to him pretty quickly, because almost all of them stuck around in St. Paul, Minn., to see him win the Hobey Baker, even though the team had been eliminated by the eventual champs from Denver the day before. “I wouldn’t be anywhere without them,” Celebrini said. “I love that group. We’re like brothers. The past year has been amazing. All the people there, everyone has been so awesome and supportive of our team and each of us individually. It’s been a special place to spend the last year.”

Along the way, Celebrini proved himself to be more than just a great offensive talent. His competitiveness manifests itself in a nasty physical streak that saw him trade big-time hits with Colorado Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens in the Denver game, while doing all he could to will his team past a Pioneers squad that was simply too disciplined to be beaten in the tournament.

But that’s something Celebrini has been doing all season, even when his team loses. At the world juniors, he seemed to be the only player capable of doing anything for a disappointing Team Canada squad that fell in the quarterfinal. And in the Hockey East conference championship, talent hawks were chuffed by his efforts against archrival Boston College, who beat the Terriers with a star-studded lineup.

“It was just one of those nights where things were going BC’s way,” said another scout. “But this kid just didn’t stop. He was so dialled in, trying to do anything to flip the game around. Mentally, this kid is a dog. He’s got that superstar mentality.”

His coach has seen that all season long. “There’s not a lot of players that young that have that type of skill that are going to be that hard defensively,” Pandolfo said. “It says a lot about him that he cares so much on the defensive side. He wants to get the damn puck back. That’s the way he’s wired.”

So, we know Celebrini will go first overall at The Sphere in Las Vegas this summer. But what happens after that? No doubt the folks at BU would welcome him back with open arms, but the NHL will certainly be calling as well. With a June 13 birthday, Celebrini would head into training camp as a young 18-year-old. But if you think such a challenge is beyond Macklin Celebrini, then you really haven’t been paying attention.